New Identity in the Past
by Dreamyin
Summary: Naruto gets himself in 'impossible' situations all the time. However, waking up in Obito's body and buried under boulders, was not something even Naruto thought possible. Will he be able to save Obito and the others? Not to forget, what about that bastard Madara? Timetravel
1. Chapter 1

**Title: New Identity in the Past**

**Summary**: It is not for nothing that Naruto has gotten the reputation of being the most surprising ninja. As if to keep this reputation, the blond often lands himself in unusual situations that ask for the most unusual solutions. However, after fighting Madara to the bitter end and caught up in a clash of jutsus, waking up in Obito's body and buried under piles of stones was not something even Naruto thought possible. How will Naruto take care of the upcoming threat of Akatsuki and Madara in a past he does not know while starting a new legend for Uchiha Obito?

**Disclaimer** (for the whole story): I do not own the OC from Naruto, they all belong to their respective owners. I'm merely a student that had to find a release for her imagination.

**Beta**: **Beloved****Daughter**, thank you so much!

Edit 11/11: I have got a lovely beta!

Hello reader who is interested in this story. Or at least I hope you are. To start, I would like to discuss several points. First of all, this may not follow the canon. I am still unsure what parts will change dramatically and how long the story will be. I might split it up in different fics, but seeing as I have other stories too, I will have to see how many people enjoy the story. Second, this is one of those stories in which Kyuubi is not a completely evil and horrible blind demon that only lives too kill. He will have formed a mutual respect for Naruto. The whole 'you die, I die' having triggered the – dare to say it – friendship between the two. Third… I really shouldn't be doing this seeing as I have two other stories as well. For this reason my updates mostly depend on the inspiration I have and party how much me writing this story is appreciated.

If you have any questions, find holes in my story, or just like to share your own ideas, please let me know!

For now! Have fun reading!

**Chapter 1: Crushing Weight**

Pain.

Incredible pain.

This was the first and foremost thing that Naruto became aware of, as the young man once again regained a somewhat consciousness. Never before in his 18-year-long life had he experienced such agony. It was as if his whole body was on fire. As if he was being squashed to the ground.

He couldn't think straight. He was caught up in this ocean of pain and it felt like he was drowning. It would be so easy to give in. To simply let go and sink to the bottom of this ocean and to give in to the darkness that would let him rest in peace.

For a moment, he suddenly realized he was indeed sinking. He had stopped struggling. He was sinking deeper and deeper, into the darkness. Just before he wouldn't be able to get up again, something snapped him out of this stupor.

He was a _survivor_.

He did _not _give up.

He would fight.

He swam. He groaned. He cursed. It hurt to put so much effort in fighting against the flow, but he fought. He struggled to regain consciousness and to get out of this clouded mind that he had somehow ended up in.

Slowly but surely the blond ninja rose to the surface and suddenly was able to think again. Shakily he managed to stand up on the surface of the dark water-like substance.

'Where the hell am I?'

Doing his best to block out the pain, Naruto looked around.

'This is not my brain.' The ninja realized.

The feeling, the aura and its surroundings were completely different than the place he had been familiar with in all the years that he had frequently visited the fox. He glanced around, searching for the gigantic sarcastic fox that he had formed a mutual form of respect with in the two last years, which had been very tough for them both.

"Kyuubi!" He shouted through the darkness.

Silence greeted him.

Naruto grasped his head, desperately trying not to give in to the panic that was creeping up on him. Where the hell was he? What the hell had happened?

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a wave of memories slammed into him. He was thrown off his feet by the force and stared with widened eyes as he instantly _remembered_. His life was filtered right in front of his eyes and disappeared into the shadows of his surroundings. He had been fighting Madara. All his loved ones had died right in front of his eyes throughout the last two years. They had been the only one left in the end.

He had wanted to _kill_ him. Kill him so bad. He had wanted revenge.

He remembered being overwhelmed by Kyuubi's chakra. Madara had been charging a jutsu when Naruto had interfered with a Rasengan… then he had been disconnected… Naruto wasn't sure what happened next.

'Am I dead? Am I caught up in someone's mind?' Naruto wondered, spooked out in this unfamiliar situation.

The ninja felt the mental shield in this mind shift around to accept the memories that his presence carried. He panicked.

'Whose mind _is_ this?'

His mental request was heard and he was once again blown of his feet. Memories of another life opened up to him. He felt the mental link with his surroundings grow. This was _his _brain but at the same it wasn't. This was his life but as was his other life that he had just been watching.

It confused the ninja as he struggled against the overwhelming flow of information. He was an Uchiha. His name was Obito. He didn't like the way his family cooperated. He had a crush on this girl called Rin for a long time but never dared to voice it. He had a rival called Kakashi…

'_Kakashi-sensei?' _Two images greeted him and overlapped each other.

His sensei was Minato- Another pair of images overlapped.

He had his father and only one little nephew that he truly cared about. An image of a young boy flickered in front of his eyes and another one soon followed. The second was older and more familiar to the boy.

'Itachi?'

Naruto grasped his head with a gasp. His head was aching in protest to all the information that wasn't his. He was going crazy. Stop this! Unfortunately for the ninja, the mind wasn't listening. It was happy that it could once again connect with a user after losing its connection with the previous one.

Naruto couldn't take it anymore. This was not his life! He mentally shouted for help. He was losing his grip on the water and one of his legs sunk back into the water.

'Help!'

"_Kyuubi!" _He yelled.

"**Kid! ****Stop ****thinking!"**

The familiar growl made the surface of the black substance vibrate ever so slightly. To know that the fox was still present, immediately calmed the young man. At least one thing was the same. That damned fox was still there. Their souls were connected, Naruto knew that, but for a moment he had been afraid that Madara had somehow managed to get a hold of his last companion.

"I'm trying!" He groaned. "What the hell is going on?"

"**Kid! ****We ****don't ****have ****time! ****You ****have ****to ****wake ****up ****now! ****Get ****the ****body ****out ****of ****there! ****I ****only ****have ****so ****much ****energy ****to ****heal ****it!"**

What the hell was he talking about? Naruto swirled around, trying to find the only ally he currently had, but he couldn't find.

"Where are you?"

_**Not now kid!**_

A rough shove caught the Uzumaki of guard and he was flung to the opposite site than he previously had. He yelled out in pain as it greeted him once again. He nearly wanted to crawl back to the safe heaven he had just came from, but Kyuubi's words were still fresh in his mind, as was the urgency behind it.

The moment he somehow regained consciousness, he realized why. Large boulders were squashing him. The now-dark-haired chuunin couldn't move. His limps were locked in place. His mind screamed at him. He had to get away. He had to _move! _He had to get away!

But he couldn't. He was dying… again.

Somehow – in a desperate attempt for an escape – his mind provided him with a memory. It snapped him right back to a certain moment in his fight with Madara. It had been in this mere second that he had been able to get a feel of what the bastard had been doing with his chakra to become intangible for few periods of time.

It was his only chance.

Naruto desperately commanded his chakra copy the maniac. At first it didn't seem to work. He was still being squashed. However, suddenly the ninja felt his surroundings _change_. It felt like he was flowing through water. He didn't have much time to observe it though, as he was already moving.

He pushed himself up and crawled forward with the leg and arm that hurt the least. The ninja struggled and groaned but – after what seemed like years - was eventually able to push himself out of stones and into an open but enclosed space between the boulders. It was safe there.

With a heavy and painful growl the unfamiliar – and at the same time familiar – mutated body fell on the ground.

The constant wave of pain was disrupted with a more familiar pain, one his mind could cope with.

He greedily accepted the burning chakra of the fox demon, knowing that Kyuubi had his back with this. Over the last years their souls had become connected too closely for Kyuubi to have a reason _and_ the ability to take over. A human had the most control in a human's mind, so Naruto was safe.

He could get some rest, or so he thought. His sleep was disrupted by the voice of the fox.

"**Kid ****don't ****you ****dare ****sleep ****yet. ****You ****will ****have ****to ****heal ****yourself. ****I ****am ****not ****in ****control ****of ****this ****body. ****I ****can ****only ****provide ****you ****with ****my ****chakra ****for ****now."**

A soft choke came from the ninja's mouth. 'What? I can't do that.'

"Since when did you give up so easily without trying brat?"

Naruto growled at the fox, gritting his teeth and snapped right back at the fox. "I never healed myself before, furball. How can I…"

"**No ****need ****for ****names, ****Monkeyboy. ****Now ****follow ****my ****instructions, ****damn ****it. ****I ****hope ****you ****have ****the ****brains ****to ****follow ****it."**

The ninja let out a silent chuckle full of disbelieve, but didn't complain. It was not like he had a choice. He had to live, damn it. Following the fox's instruction as carefully as he could, while trying to make sense from it, the ninja set to work.

After what seemed like ages, Naruto was finally told to stop.

"**No ****bad ****for ****a ****first ****try ****Kid. N****ow ****sleep. ****I ****will ****be ****able ****to ****take ****care ****of ****the ****rest.'**

Naruto didn't even waste a second to follow that last instruction and he let himself fall back into a comfortable darkness.

~ Time Break ~

A groan escaped his lips as he finally regained consciousness again. His eyes opened and took in twinkling stars in the dark sky and the familiar sigh of trees surrounding him.

What happened? Had it all been a dream?

Naruto frowned as he sensed his surroundings. No, something was off. He had to find out what happened. Where was that damn know-it-all-fox?

"Kyuubi?"

Naruto pushed himself from the ground, realizing that he had been sleeping in a pile of soft grass. A light breeze caught him of guard and he turned to look at his surroundings. He was standing in the middle of a large clearing, the moon shining brightly and high in the sky.

He was in _his _mind. That Obito guy's mind. Kakashi's teammate? Alright if he didn't think about it too much, he could cope with that for now.

But where was the demon?

"Kyuubi!" Naruto screamed again, feeling slightly uncomfortable in this unfamiliar place. A growl made him turn to the forest on his right. He ran forward as he heard it, determined to at least find something he was familiar with.

"**Be ****silent ****Kid, ****I'm ****trying ****to ****sleep."**The fox grumbled, his massive voice carrying over the plains.

Naruto, who had already been looking for the massive fox that usually greeted him, frowned when he didn't see him. He had been sure that the voice had come from this spot. He turned around; head tilted back as he continued searching for the large figure that usually loomed over him.

"Kyuubi?" He tried again, never one to just simply listen to the fox.

An irritated growl made him turn around again, this time looking right in front of him. His first reaction was one of surprise, which then followed into amusement and eventually he couldn't hold back a few laughs.

It had been a long time that he had actually laughed.

"Kyuubi? You look…" He searched for the right word. "… different." He snorted and dared to step walk the strong trees that had seemingly replaced the bars he had in his own mind.

Naruto knew that Kyuubi wouldn't have the energy or the will to hurt him, not when they were in this unknown situation. So he didn't even falter in his steps as he walked through the trees that separated him from the fox, which was currently only the size of a large horse. The fox bared his teeth at the ninja, but said ninja knew that it was simply a way of showing his annoyance.

Naruto flopped down next to the much-smaller-than-usual-fox, leaning over slightly in an attempt to check up on him.

"Are you alright?" He quietly asked, taking in the fact that Kyuubi only had three tails.

"**Besides ****the ****fact ****that ****we ****nearly ****died**** and ****I ****had ****to ****save ****your ****pathetic ****butt ****once ****more, ****that ****we ****are ****stuck ****in ****another ****timeframe ****and ****in ****the ****mind ****of ****an **_**Uchiha" **_The demon spat the name. **"Of ****all ****people, ****and ****that ****I ****just ****lost ****about ****two-****third ****of ****my ****chakra ****to ****keep ****us ****alive ****and ****heal ****the ****body ****that ****had ****been practically ****pulverized ****to ****death****…****I ****feel ****absolutely ****giddy."**

Naruto rolled his eyes at the fox's sarcasm and settled himself comfortably against the side of the fox, pondering about what the fox had said. Kyuubi let out a warning growl but Naruto knew that it was just a matter of pride that made the fox this touchy.

"Will they come back?"

"**Eventually. ****I ****will ****need ****a ****lot ****of ****rest. ****I ****might ****sleep ****for ****a ****long ****time ****in ****which ****you ****can****not ****always ****contact ****me."**

"That's good. In the mean time, you can be my pillow then." Naruto teased, rubbing his face in Kyuubi's soft fur.

A few seconds later the blond found himself upside down in the air as two of the three tails held him by his ankles. He grinned cheekily at the fox's glare. "I'm glad Madara didn't get to you." He said. Kyuubi, who had been planning to drop the ninja face first to the ground, paused at that comment. The demon took in Naruto's grinning face and let out a deep sigh as he dropped him on his back.

That brat had managed to get even Kyuubi to like him.

"**I ****haven't ****seen ****you ****so ****cheerful ****in ****a ****long ****time ****brat."**

Naruto, who was now lying nearly upside down on his back on the fox's first, turned his head into Kyuubi's direction. "Yeah… well. Everything is over, you know. I know they are all gone…" His face fell just ever so slightly before he smiled again. "But they are all together and I'm sure in a good place. Now it is over, I suddenly feel a lot lighter. It is difficult to explain."

Kyuubi acknowledge his short ramble with a low growl as he put his head on his paws in an attempt to get some rest. Naruto though, still had some questions and climbed up so he could sit on the fox's back, just behind his neck. Lying down forward on his belly, he started patting the soft fur just behind his ears.

"**What ****the ****hell ****are ****you ****doing?**"

"I can't help it, it looks so soft."

Kyuubi growled at him but didn't stop him. **"If ****you ****even **_**dare **_**to ****make ****a **_**move **_**to ****touch ****my ****ears ****than ****I ****don't ****care ****that ****we ****are ****connected ****by ****soul. ****I ****will ****kill ****you ****personally."** He warned him instead, earning another grin from Naruto.

"Yeah right, Kyuubi."

They sat there for a while, before Naruto's face grew serious. No way to get around it.

"Are we in the past?"

"**Yes. ****The ****clash ****between ****that ****space-dimension ****jutsu ****of ****that ****damned ****Uchiha ****and ****our ****chakra ****killed ****us ****all ****instantly. ****Unfortunately ****or ****fortunately ****for ****the ****two ****of ****us, ****depending ****how ****you ****look ****at ****it, ****our ****energy**** – ****and ****which ****also ****means ****our ****soul**** – ****got ****sucked ****into ****that ****Uchiha's ****jutsu ****and ****send ****us ****here. ****Since ****our ****soul ****needs ****to ****be ****bonded ****to ****a ****body ****and ****the ****boy's ****soul ****is ****in ****coma, ****we ****got ****permission ****to ****bond."**

Naruto's eyes stared at the fox in surprise.

"He's still alive…?"

"**I ****wouldn't ****say ****alive, ****kid. ****The ****only ****reason ****he ****is ****still ****here ****is ****because ****we ****keep ****his ****brain ****running. ****If ****we had ****arrived ****just ****a ****second later****, t****he boy w****ould ****have ****passed ****on ****and ****we ****would ****have ****been ****screwed, ****wandering ****around ****this ****plane ****for ****who ****knows ****how ****long."**

"Wow."

Naruto wasn't sure what else to say. Now he realized that Obito was still here, he suddenly became aware of the boy's quiet presence. The boy was not far away, most likely having hidden himself in one of the foxholes that Naruto had spotted.

"Will he wake up?"

"**I ****am ****unsure. ****The ****essence ****of ****the ****boy's ****spirit ****is ****very ****strong, ****but ****the ****spirit ****itself ****is ****currently ****very ****weak. ****It ****feels ****familiar ****somehow though."**The demon moved its eyes to glance at the blond but didn't comment on it any further. **"Only ****time ****will ****tell..."**

Naruto sighed, feeling bad for the other spirit. He knew he had not pushed the boy away or put him in this state, but he would be carrying the identity of the boy. Naruto's eyes narrowed in determination. He would take good care of the body. Not only because he wanted to, but because he also felt this connection with the boy. He could not really explain it, but it felt as if they were close. Obito felt very familiar. Strange. The ninja decided that it must be because of the fact that he had received a couple of his memories. Pushing the thought away, Naruto let himself relax on top of the fox.

"I guess I will be Uchiha Obito for a while then."

"**That ****seems ****to ****be ****the ****case****… ****now ****shut ****your ****mouth ****Gaki, ****I'm ****trying ****to ****sleep."**

Naruto chuckled and closed his eyes too.

"Kyuubi?" He mumbled once he was half asleep. He only got a slight grumble in return.

"Thank you..." He didn't need to explain what for.

Another grumble followed and the ninja took it as a 'you're welcome.' A smile formed on the ninja's lips as he snuggled just a little deeper into the demon's warmth.

A few moments later both were fast asleep, mentally preparing themselves for a long journey in this unfamiliar past.

**~End Chapter~**

First chapter done! So that means feedback time!

Want to read more? Or should I just already quit? Hehe...

Let me know alright?

Till next time!

Edit: Kyuubi's text was all sticking together, so I had to put the spaces back in... sigh. Ah well everything for good intro. :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: New Identity in the Past**

**Summary**: It is not for nothing that Naruto has gotten the reputation of being the most surprising ninja. As if to keep this reputation, the blond often lands himself in unusual situations that ask for the most unusual solutions. However, after fighting Madara to the bitter end and caught up in a clash of jutsus, waking up in Obito's body and buried under piles of stones was not something even Naruto thought possible. How will Naruto take care of the upcoming threat of Akatsuki and Madara in a past he does not know while starting a new legend for Uchiha Obito?

**Disclaimer** (for the whole story): I do not own the OC from Naruto, they all belong to their respective owners. I'm merely a student that had to find a release for her imagination.

Beta: dear **Beloved Daughter**, it is thanks to her that the story flows better.

Hello readers that have taken interest in this story. I'm happy and I'm sad. I'm sad because my laptop crashed just a few days after I updated last chapter. It also crashed after I had written about two extra chapters ahead and had written some ideas down for the rest of the story… which are now gone.

I'm unable to rewrite the exact ideas that I came up with at the time, so I will have to find a way to remember what I did. I'm not sure whether I will get the documents back safely, I still haven't heard from the technician, which in my opinion, can't be good news. Sigh.

On the other hand, I'm very happy – and taken off guard – that so many of you have send supportive reviews about the first chapter. It warms my heart! So I will do my best to continue the story to the best of my ability.

Though I will have to remind you that I am (now) a very busy student, who won't always have much time on her hands. So please be patient with me at times, it all depends on the knowledge that I give people a story that they really enjoy and want to read more of my imaginary scenarios and also the time that I have.

Anyway, thank you all once again! I will do my very best! And to those who have suggestions, don't hesitate to share. Now that I'm (finally) done rambling, read and enjoy!

**Chapter 2: Lifting Weights**

Pain.

Though it was bearable this time. With a groan, Naruto tried to move his limbs. He succeeded but the action made him hiss as even more pain hit his senses. He kept his one eyes closed, not ready to face what would happen if he were to open it.

There were two possibilities. He would be able to see, but he couldn't be able to make sense of all the colors and shapes yet. The second possibility, which was also far more likely, was that he wouldn't be able to see. Either way, it would hurt a lot.

After all, his right eye had been crushed too and it had been very painful, not to mention difficult, to safe it. The chakra that the fox provided was too strong to use for a long period of time in a body that was not fit to use it, like Naruto's own body had been.

Naruto had argued to 'just do all the healing in one session', but Kyuubi had protested heavily – accompanied with a whack to his head and a couple of insults about his mental intelligence, or more specifically, the lack thereof.

If they weren't careful they would be 'burned from the inside out' as the Kyuubi had said. Now that was not something that Naruto wanted to try and find out.

So the best action left to take, was to – reluctantly mind you - follow the fox's plan.

Which was boring, painful, time-consuming and even more boring. Not to mention that it was annoying that he had to follow the instructions of the-

'**Start moving brat.'**

Stupid fox.

The fox had been a little _too_ happy to kick Naruto out of his safe painless state of mind a few minutes ago. Naruto gritted his teeth in annoyance to the fox, but didn't bother to react. Sadistic demon. It was not Naruto's fault that he had accidently shifted a little too close to the fox's precious ears in his sleep.

'Over-sensitive, sarcastic, mean, evil, sadisti-' The ninja grumbled, gritting his teeth as he tensed his stiff muscles.

'**What are you waiting for brat? Someone to help you up? Start healing already.'**

Groaning once again and grumbling to himself, Naruto forced himself to roll on his stomach and heave himself up.

He had been in this enclosed space for about a week already. He hadn't been able to move an inch at first. There had been a light panic on how he would survive. Fortunately, a little lucky rainstorm had provided him with enough water and the rest was taken care of by his chakra and that of the fox, before he was finally able to move a bit more fluently.

Once he could move ever so slightly – no matter how much it hurt - it had been his luck to find a blood scroll in Obito's pouch and some energy bar and chakra pills that had allowed him to survive before he had finally been able to open the scroll.

It had actually taken him some time to realize that it had been Obito himself who had drawn the seal, judging by its messy drawing. He could only wonder how the brat had been able to make something that complicated with that kind of inking without messing it up.

Unfortunately for Naruto, he had been forced to open his right eye for a moment with some protection from the fox's chakra to study the seal and unseal everything. Everything had been blurry and dark and his vision had been so screwed that he only barely managed to do everything before the chakra ran out.

That was definitely not good.

He had managed though. Naruto couldn't help but be grateful as he pulled his sleeping bag closer to himself for support and made sure not to strain his wounds. He didn't want his bandages to become bloody. He didn't have much left.

The ninja sighed in relief as he managed to sit up and lean against his sleeping bag as he settled it against one of the boulders. He needed to focus, he reminded himself as he popped one of the three last chakra pills in his mouth.

Ever so slowly he started gathering his chakra in his hands and brought them to his eyes.

This was their third healing session and they would finally take care of the eye that had been a point of worry for both of them. They were unable to grow his other eye back for the time being. The fox only had been able to freeze the process of the connection between the eye and the brain, so they might be able to fix the eye later on.

That is if his body could handle the amount of chakra.

Naruto grumbled in protest as he felt his chakra flow over his sensitive eye and slowly started to follow the instructions of the growling voice in the back of his mind. Since this was not the first time he had done so, the ninja didn't really bother to protest with every instruction.

It would only make the fox cranky.

In the first healing, they had decided that the most important crushed organs had to be taken care of first. For example, his brain and heart had taken most of their energy, which left them with just enough to stabilize the rest of his other important organs.

In their second, his bones and the other organs had been stabilized. In the third, they had healed all the organs even further, trying to complete the healing of all the organs and most of his damaged nerves.

In the end, they managed to get himself out of the life-threatening state, though he was nowhere close to healing the rest of the body. It had worked, even if there would be complications with his chakra pathways. They would most likely get clustered with the fox's chakra and be blocked until the denser chakra was finally filtered.

In Naruto's own body, this whole process would have taken a matter of seconds. In Obito's body… he wasn't sure how long it would take.

Which was – to borrow a certain genius's words – troublesome.

In order to make sure his main chakra paths would not get blocked, the two had decided that today would be the last of the healing sessions for a couple of days. The chakra pathways – and the rest of hi- Obito's body were already showing strains of the fox's chakra. His own chakra on the other hand was restricted to Obito's own. During his unconscious state he had been able to find it locked away in the mental forest.

He wondered how he would be able to reach it.

Naruto had no choice but to stick to Obito's reserves, which were so _tiny_ compared to his own. How did all the others manage to fight and live with so little chakra?

'**Focus brat.' **The deep grumble brought him back to his current situation.

'Yeah, yeah, whatever.'

Just a little longer, he reminded himself. Just a little longer and he would be able to get out of here…. Somehow.

The ninja gritted his teeth as his eye stung painfully and would have stopped had Kyuubi not spouted some threats at him not to.

'**Don't you dare kid; if you do that, your eye will be gone and you will be blind.'**

"Is this even a good idea? Doesn't your chakra conflict with the Sharingan?" He asked once again, suddenly unsure as he felt a bit of Kyuubi's chakra come to the surface.

He felt the Kyuubi mentally grin in the back of his mind. **"I am one of the few reasons those arrogant monkeys have that eye in the first place. I'm sure I should be able to tweak it."**

'_Tweak_?' Naruto tensed and nearly cut of his chakra supply, but was unable to do anything as the red chakra took over.

'No way!'

'**Tsk… brat. Don't worry; I won't be able to do much. You will be grateful in the end.' **The fox said as Naruto growled out in pain.

'What are you doing stupid manipulative f…' The pain became too much and he wasn't able to formulate any proper thoughts for a moment.

Just before he was sure that he would lose consciousness, the pain stopped and the chakra subdued.

"**Stupid brat. I might not hate you anymore…"** He never let the boy know that he _might_ actually ever so slightly like him a _tiny_ bit. **"… but for me, you survival is the most important. Being blind will not allow you to accomplish all those silly plans that you are forming in your head. So I'm only helping you to make sure that this won't kill you. After all, you are far too stubborn and would end up trying anyway… even if you were blind."**

Naruto mentally glared at the fox as he finally lowered his shaking hands from his eyes, not fully knowing how to react to this. What had he done to his only eye? He nearly didn't dare to open it.

'Gee, thanks.'

Kyuubi gave him a slightly rough mental nudge in annoyance. **"You ungrateful brat… Just remember that I'm only doing this because-"**

"If I die, you die… right, right." A slight amused smile crossed the now-black-haired boy's lips as he interrupted the fox.

Ignoring the fox's rambling, he slowly removed the bandage from his eyes and rewrapped it in a manner that it only covered his left empty eye socket. Knowing that he was being ignored, the fox retreated, grumbling the whole time about 'ungrateful monkeys and disrespect.'

In the meantime, Naruto steeled the nerves that had suddenly sprung up out of nowhere. The realization of how important the ability to see was had become very clear in the last week. If he was blind...

Naruto took a deep breath, as he set the muscles of his right eye to do their work and his eye opened.

Nothing. Only darkness.

A choked humorless chuckle escaped the Uchiha's lips. Of course, he was still trapped in there. He grazed up and tried to see the difference between the stones and the cracks in between but couldn't find them.

Was it night? Or was he blind after all? Had the fox ruined his eye?

He stared in front of him, hoping that his eye only had to get used to the sudden darkness. He held out his hand and waved it in front of his eye but besides the slight blow of wind that he felt, he couldn't see anything yet. Just as the ninja was about to give up, a very light twinkle in the corner of his vision caught his attention.

Squinting his eye, a smile blossomed on his face as he watched the star twinkle in the sky through the very tiny crack that was most likely situated just above him.

He never realized just how much a twinkling star could calm someone. He didn't know how long he had been staring at it, but it was one of the most peaceful moments he had had in a long while. Even though he fell asleep not much later, the star travelled with him to his dreams, where they multiplied and travelled with him everywhere he went, watching over him.

Like his friends had done into his future's past.

~ Four weeks later ~

Naruto's heart was beating slightly too quickly in his chest to be absolutely calm, even though he was trying very hard to be.

He was nearly there… or at least he hoped he was.

'How many boulders were there left?' He wondered as he glided through them, being careful to keep the centre of his chakra stabilized.

After about five weeks of being trapped in the enclosed space, Naruto had finally healed himself enough to get of there. It had not been easy, much to his annoyance. For one, it had caught him at surprise how difficult it had been to get used to his shorter limbs. He was so glad that he had been able to obtain most of the muscle memories in Obito's mind. It saved him a lot of time.

He was also secretly glad that he had been shor- not a giant in his own body, for it made the adaption ever so slightly easier.

In the end, Naruto could have gotten out earlier, but he had been in no situation to know about the war that was out there. He had also had enough food and water from the scroll – and with some pushing from the fox – Naruto had decided to use this moment of isolation to strengthen hi- Obito's body some more.

At the moment he estimated that he should be able to fight a genin and maybe outsmart a low chuunin. He was also able to run for about an hour again. This was so much under his previous level – he could fight S-ranked shinobi damn it! - that he felt nearly felt pathetic, but he couldn't complain.

After all...

"**Be glad you are alive, Brat."**

How could one argue with that logic?

During his light workout, Naruto had eventually managed to come up a way to get out of the place. Madara's jutsu once again provided a solution. Unfortunately, it had taken two whole weeks of near constant practice to perfect the technique. Still it was necessary. It would be horrible if he would be stuck halfway and to die if he wouldn't be able to free himself anymore.

In the meantime, once again much to his disappointment, the time between the healing sessions was being lengthened.

This surely gave him the opportunity to practice being patient too.

Though, of course, not everything had been bad during that time. There had also been a few progresses, like finding out he had some very good chakra control and that he could search for some useful and important memories from Obito's presence. However, besides the fact that it gave the ninja a huge headache, it also bothered Naruto ever so slightly to invade the boy's privacy.

But sometimes it was necessary.

In the seventh healing session, the fox had offered something that Naruto couldn't refuse, which was that absence of his eyes should be compensates with some strengthened senses. The changes were not overwhelming – not anything like Kiba's senses had been - but it helped him cope with the slight handicap just a little easier by having a better hearing.

Of course, his luck couldn't hold out much longer after this.

After his ninth and last healing session to bring back some strength to his muscles, his chakra pathways had eventually been blocked under the strain of the fox's chakra. This meant that he was stuck for a while because he couldn't use jutsu to get out of there. At least, he couldn't use ninjutsu on his surroundings.

'Luckily', Naruto mused as he walked through the stones, 'I remembered that jutsu, though I should have thought about it before'. It had taken a few hours of staring at the one tiny crack of light to suddenly remember Madara's jutsu and to realize that it would work despite of his chakra block.

'Well, at least it seems like I was right.' Naruto thought, trying not to become too distracted to lose control of the chakra that was coursing through his body.

Naruto took a deep breath as he took in the strange sensation of flowing through the rocks. It had taken two weeks of hard work to get some control of the jutsu and now he was finally walking out of the place. Finally facing his freedom.

Finally facing the real situation. At least if he made it out of this place.

Naruto let out a growl as his leg once again sank down into the ground. His hand shot out and managed to find a crack between two boulders. Only he went right through the stone as he tried to reach it.

Shit!

His brain screamed out to turn it tangible again and he let out a sigh of relief as he managed to grasp it in his second attempt.

Sure that he was stable once again – and would not suddenly disappear into the ground – he walked on and was suddenly met with a gentle breeze going through his hair and the sun shining down upon him.

He barely noticed that he had released the strange jutsu.

Naruto had prepared himself to be overwhelmed like this though and quickly scanned his surroundings with his guard up, before he finally relaxed.

There was nobody nearby.

A deep breath – one without the smell that had developed in the enclosed space – was so incredibly refreshing that Naruto couldn't help but let himself take in every single detail that was suddenly overwhelming him. The smell of the trees and nature around him. The feeling of soft grass tickling his legs.

He wasn't sure what Kyuubi had done to the eye, but it was as if everything was suddenly so much sharper. It was as he had seen the world in his own time through a filthy pair of glasses that hid so many colors from him until now.

It was amazing.

He ignored the feeling of smugness that was building up in the back of his head, coming from the prideful fox.

'Yeah yeah, give yourself a star.'

The smugness didn't even falter; instead he heard a soft laugh from the fox, which made him shake his head in amusement. As if the fox wasn't already feeling too high and mighty to begin with.

With another deep breath, Naruto walked forward to a, what he guessed to be, a small river that he heard streaming somewhere in the background. His steps faltered slightly as it came in sight, afraid to be confronted with another face.

Even though he knew he looked different, there was still this expectancy to see his blond hair and familiar whiskered cheeks.

Instead he was met with the face of an Uchiha –' _Sasuke…_'- that made him startle back ever so slightly. Not only because of the face, but also what had happened to it. He had seen memories of Obito looking at himself in the mirror before, but this…

Poor boy.

'It's me now.' Naruto reminded himself.

Slightly overwhelmed, Naruto crouched down to study his face slightly better in the reflection of the water. His face was scarred, especially the right side of his face. Swallowing with some difficulty he let his fingers trail over the scars. The face that was staring at him was only thirteen years old. Too young to be walking around with something like this.

It felt so strange and disturbing to know that he was in a younger body with those scars. He realized he was lucky though.

If he was normal, he wouldn't even be able to walk. It was all thanks to the fox's healing that he was still here, but the body did not allow enough chakra to be used to heal the scars and imperfections.

Maybe in the future, when the body was strong enough.

Shutting his eyes, Naruto vowed to let Obito's sacrifice not be in vain. He was going get the boy to wake up and if this was not possible, he would make sure to make the whole world know that Obito Uchiha was not someone to cross.

He would protect _his_ and his own precious people, like the boy would have wanted him to do.

For now, he would take on the role of Uchiha Obito.

~ A Month Later ~

The next month, Naruto trained.

Slowly but surely he got his body back in shape as he travelled around to get some knowledge about the situation that he was in. Kakashi's story was enough for some basics, but Naruto had never been a star in paying attention to History – something that had now come to bite him in the ass.

So he decided to train to become stronger and kept himself under the radar for now. During his travels with Jiraiya and the last year of searching for that bastard Madara, had taught him a lot about traveling unnoticed.

Some might have expected Naruto to head back to Konoha immediately. However, this was not the plan. He had seen the village in war. He had seen the village at its end. He had seen the village in chaos as Sasuke had entered the city.

He had seen Madara's attack.

Naruto was not yet ready to face Konoha.

On the other hand, would he be able to turn his back to his village? Or would he solely focus on Madara?

A heavy sigh escaped his lips.

At least he had managed to avoid all the fights. He had heard a couple of them. He hadn't dared to check. This was the Third Shinobi World War that was going on. That was not a good time to jump in situation he had no knowledge off.

He pulled the brown strained cloak around him a little righter and tugged his hood a little lower over his head as he kept his pace steady. He had been walking for a couple of hours and he was starting to feel the strain.

His right leg was often the first thing to cramp up.

He knew that he was nearing the Fire Country's borders, which meant that he would be forced to pass by a couple of patrols. He had no clue how he was going to do that. His skills were not up to par, no matter how much it annoyed him.

He would have to think up a plan.

Fortunately, or unfortunately for the young ninja, the answer came in form of a scream.

His senses screamed at him at the first sound and before he knew it, he was running. A kunoichi would never scream that way. The voice sounded young too, meaning that probably a young girl was in danger.

'_Rin!' _A sudden wave of memories and emotions hit him, forcing him to _move_.

Yes, he might be running into a trap. Yes, it might get him hurt or killed in the end. Yet, under the wave of emotions, he didn't care. Naruto was known to be reckless – even though the last couple of years in the future had forced him to decrease this – and the influence of Obito body and his own recklessness made it worse.

For some reason he couldn't stop himself. He lost control of his grip of his urges and ran.

Which meant, that when Naruto had finally got a hold of himself again, he suddenly came face to face with a young girl. She looked absolutely terrified and screamed when she saw him. He had come out of nowhere and he screamed 'dangerous' all over.

Danger. Get away. Get away. Her panicked mind screamed to her.

"Calm down! I can help!" He hushed her, but she pulled away from him, sobbing silently.

"What is going on?" Naruto took notice of the young figure of a young boy that was on her back. He seemed unconscious, as he was too heated to be dead. He had a large gash on his head and was spreading blood all over her.

"Go away!" She sobbed as she took "Or I will-" She couldn't finish her threat and instead shook as she backed away from him.

The wound looked bad. If it wasn't treated quickly… Naruto's face hardened slightly and he walked towards her with a sudden speed that she couldn't back away from.

Handling quickly, he managed to snatch the boy away from her and put his hand on his forehead.

As expected, she screamed at him and tried to take her little brother back, but Naruto acted quickly.

Having been healing himself – even from death – Naruto had gotten some experience with the art of healing. Some memories had provided him with some information too. It seemed that the boy had wanted to gain the girl's attention by showing her some healing jutsu, but he had never gotten the chance to show her.

'_I will make her notice me too! I will show her that I can be strong too!'_

Naruto smiled sadly at the memory, knowing that it could save the boy's life at the moment. It would give the cells in the flesh a quick start to heal it, while mending the skin to prevent any infection to take place.

At the sight of his hands glowing green, the girl stopped in surprise, which surprised Naruto in return. She knew of healing jutsu?

No time. He reminded himself and put the boy down. Then his eyes picked up the sounds that he had hoped not to hear for a while.

_Clang! Ching!_

'Kunai or some kind of swords' Naruto noted.

There was a fight not far away then. Shit. What had happened? He needed to get away. He didn't have enough chakra to enter a fight against anyone stronger than a Chuunin and his fighting skills were still shaky in some areas. Not to mention that his leg was already beginning to feel stiff.

He turned around to run away before he suddenly stopped.

What the hell was he doing?

Was he really going to leave the girl behind?

The presence of this coldness towards anything but himself that he had felt just a few moments ago threw him off guard. Why was he acting this way?

The girl, who had seen him turn away, panicked.

"Wait! Please!" The girl followed him and grasped his cloak.

"My m-mom and da-dad!" She told him shakily and his attention once again shifted to the fight in the background.

"Are they ninja?" He asked the girl, noting with cold amusement that she suddenly wasn't afraid of him anymore. The girl was far too trusting.

She shook her head. "Who is fighting then?"

"Ou- our guards. Yuki-san and Shou-san…"

"Parents?" He continued, trying to be as quick as possible and not to let his aggravation show.

"They are hiding under the wagon, but Mo-mmy told me to run and-" She couldn't talk anymore, the tension of the situation finally breaking and released through crying.

He petted her head, shushing her slightly as he didn't have any time to help her.

Taking note of a bush and a tree that would be perfect to hide the small children in, he pushed them into that direction.

"Hide there and keep still. If you brother wakes, make sure you keep silent alright? I will see what I can do."

She stumbled ahead and once Naruto made sure they were hidden he headed over to the fight.

Hopefully this would not come to bite him in the ass too.

**~ End Chapter ~**

That's it for now. Don't worry, Kakashi and the rest won't be too far away. I can't wait to write that little meeting. Though how they will meet is whole other story, which will be – guess what! – written later on. Haha.

Anyway I hope you liked the chapter as much as the previous one. For those who hoped for more action, sorry this build-up was needed. Next chapter will have a little more action.

"Now feed me back some feedback please."

Till next time!

PS!. Does anyone have good information about the timeframe of this part? I have been out of the Naruto fandom for a while, so I'm not really knowledgeable about how many months passed before the kyuubi attacked and how the whole situation with Kushina actually works. I will have to do some research. But if you like to tell me about it, I would appreciate it!

**Edit 11/2011:** a lot of thanks to Beloved Daughter for beta-ing the chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary**: It is not for nothing that Naruto has gotten the reputation of being the most surprising ninja. As if to keep this reputation, the blond often lands himself in unusual situations that ask for the most unusual solutions. However, after fighting Madara to the bitter end and caught up in a clash of jutsus, waking up in Obito's body and buried under piles of stones was not something even Naruto thought possible. How will Naruto take care of the upcoming threat of Akatsuki and Madara in a past he does not know while starting a new legend for Uchiha Obito?

**Beta**: **Beloved Daughter**, Thank you!

Hello readers that are (luckily) still interested in the story! Thanks for all the information! I'm now busy planning out a few scenarios about how to take care of the 'second' Kyuubi. The information helped a lot! Sorry for those I didn't reply to, I will try to answer from now on… at least to the ones that have questions in them, otherwise I never really know what to say hehe.

I really should be studying right now... damn.

Anyway, I hope you guys will like this chapter. It might not be what you guys were hoping, but I just need a little more time to set this up. After that, the action can begin! And to those who have suggestions, don't hesitate to share. Now that I'm (finally) done rambling, read and enjoy!

**New Identity in the Past**

**Chapter 3: Carrying Weights**

_Chang! Ching! Rustle. A pained grunt. A shouted warning. Chiiing!_

'Please let them be mere genin. Please let them be mere genin.' The cloaked ninja silently prayed as he heard that the sounds of the fight were becoming louder. Taking a deep breath, Naruto crept slowly forwards and sneakily hid behind a tree to provide him some cover when he took in the situation.

His eye spotted the wagon that the girl had mentioned pretty quickly, including the two figures that were hugging and hiding underneath it. Naruto could vaguely hear the woman whispering some prayer but didn't pay attention to it as it shifted towards the fighting instead.

The guards were pretty easy to spot. They were desperately dodging and deflecting the weapons that were thrown at them as they were sometimes forced to engage another enemy ninja in physical combat. Naruto had to admit that it was a pretty good tactic to use in situations like this. The guards, though they had pretty decent ninja skills, were nowhere near the chuunin's level.

Yes, chuunin.

'Shit… why couldn't it be genin?'

His eye narrowed when he saw the taijutsu fighter of the two chuunin once again regain their little game, but instead of engaging the guards again like they both expected, the Rock Ninja suddenly sprinted forwards to the wagon. The intention was clear and his – no wait also _his _–senses were screaming out to help them.

Unable to ignore his instinct, Naruto tightened his cloak around him with the help of a little bit of chakra and he sprinted forward. His eyes narrowed dangerously as a sudden nervousness hit him. The chuunin was too fast. He was not going to make it! This body wasn't as fast as his own had been.

'Move legs, move faster damn it!'

The pair under the wagon screamed and yelled in fear as they noticed the sudden advance.

"_Ple-please!" The girl sobbed. _Naruto's eye widened when the thought of the girl came back to him and something within him pushed him just a bit faster.

'Oh no you don't!'

_Ching! _The kunai that Naruto had thrown was flung to the side, but it had done its job.

The chuunin had seen his encounter in the corner of his eye and had acted quickly to block the kunai he had thrown to render his arm useless. The eyes of the brown-haired ninja narrowed as they quickly took him in –including his short height, which made Naruto grumble mentally in annoyance – and lashed out.

However, Naruto had seen this coming and had already produced another of his kunai.

The two kunai met in the middle, creating sparks between them as they tried to overpower the other.

Naruto glared at the man as they stood in the standstill, both trying to get enough information about the other before they would engage in a fight. Naruto prayed that he would be able to do this. The ninja in front of him was after all a chuunin; that was very clear. Not to mention he had far more power than Naruto had, that he was far taller than Naruto was and was – unlike Naruto -not recovering from nearly dying.

Well, now he thought about it… that certainly didn't sound good. Was this really a good idea?

The smirk that graced the Rock Chuunin's lips indicated that he had come to the same conclusion.

'_Oh,oh…'_

~ Scene Break ~

'Oh,oh indeed.'

Somehow…

Somehow the Chuunin that preferred physical combat had deemed Naruto too troublesome and swapped with his partner. Which left Naruto to fight– more like to keep dodging – the long-distance weapon user. He was fairly confident that the two guards would be able to take on the taijutsu-user together when they weren't distracted by the weapon-user, but Naruto wished that the chuunin hadn't swapped. It wasn't easy to spot the weapon-user when there was no one that could watch his back, unlike the guards who had been working together.

After all, Obito was no Hyuuga… and that damn Chuunin really did like to attack one's blind spot – like he was doing now. It had only been the familiar sound of the steel slashing through the air that had made him swirl around to face the new attack.

Naruto let out a curse and he let Obito's body's reflexes take over to dodge the incoming wave of kunai. The first kunai barely passed his right eye. As if losing one eye wasn't bad enough!

'Thank Kami that Obito has good reflexes'. If there was anything that the Uchiha found important, it was good reflexes.

He was just in time when he pushed himself from the ground and twisted in the air, trying his best to analyze how the kunai would travel in the meantime. They drew in dangerously quickly as he watched as if in slow-motion. He could only hope that his body would catch up like it should.

His eyes flickered to the sharp edged as they passed him.

One. Overhead. Two. Underneath. Three. Let it slip through the gap between his arm and torso. Four. It passed his upper leg with a hair's breadth.

He mentally let a sigh of relief.

He counted as they passed him. Luckily it was safe to land after the first ten and he quickly used it to back up ever so slightly. His one eye widened in surprise as another kunai appeared in the corner of his eye and he was just in time to tilt his head back. He winched ever so slightly as it nicked his nose, but his attention was already back to his current opponent.

Different angles… He was using clones then.

Mentally Naruto could help but sink to the ground in a very dramatic manner. Why? Why did it have to be a high Chuunin?

This was so cruel.

'Whoa! Dodge!' The one-eyed ninja winched as another pair of kunai sliced through his cloak. Damn it! Obito's reflexes may be very good, but it still was nowhere like his previous level. As to state this fact, Naruto had cuts all over his body and while they would heal pretty quickly, there was the danger of them becoming  
infected if he wouldn't be able to treat them soon.

How he missed his own body.

Knowing that if he waited too long he would probably become a weapon practice target once again, he quickly drew in. He tucked the hood of his cloak a little closer over his head in order to remain anonymous. Though he was fairly confident that the seal he had crudely drawn inside of the hood would help to keep it stuck on his head.

He didn't want to let them see his face. It wouldn't surprise him one bit if one of them were to recognize him instantly as an Uchiha.

Naruto hissed out in pain as another blade cut his bad leg before he could move. The stability that he had built up in the last couple of weeks suddenly disappeared and Naruto decided that he really had to end it right now. Pushing chakra in his leg, he mentally prayed his plan to work.

~ Scene Break ~

The Rock-ninja Ichirou smirked as he threw another kunai towards the short figure with the cloak. They really hadn't expected any reinforcement to come for those traitors – at least that is what he and his teammate had been told as the small group had left the Rock without asking for permission to go to the Fire Nation of all things - but this wasn't too big of a problem. The squirt shouldn't be too difficult to take care of. He threw a few senbon, but the probable-genin saw it coming just in time and jumped behind a tree he had slowly been inching to.

Studying the figure that was now trying to take cover behind a tree, the Rock-ninja had come to the conclusion that the ninja was indeed probably a kid and by the limp in his right leg, he surely wouldn't be able to move a lot. Still, it didn't hurt to be careful. Kids these days should not be underestimated.

Sorry Brat.

Giving the figure one last glance Ichirou quickly concentrated to form one more clone out of stone. If he were to use one more angle, he would be able to knock the kid out first and then see how much of a threat he really was.

He might be a ninja, but he didn't like killing little brats.

Still, he was unsure whether or not his partner would be able to keep up for much longer. So the best approach was to finish this quickly.

On the other hand, the kid was mysterious. He was definetly hiding something. Some question would be better then. 'Paralize him, quick and easy.' He decided.

A copy of himself formed next to him. The blue eyes and dirty dark brown hair was perfect and gave him a quick nod when he went off, already knowing what it should do. Sighing, the ninja's hand went in his pouch once again and drew out another pair of kunai.

He silently sneaked to the right so the brat was once again in sight, warily watching his surroundings. Waiting for the perfect moment, he sent a clearly visible but lethal strike towards the cloaked figure, who desperately tried to dodge. Just as the ninja expected, the cloaked figure managed to do so. However, the boy was caught off guard when another array of kunai shot into his direction from a complete other angle.

There was a curse before about five of them caught him right in the chest, though all aimed at places that wouldn't be lethal. As he had planned, the figure doubled over, clutching his chest and fell to the ground. The ninja relaxed just ever so slightly.

"Finally…"

Poof!

"No wa-"The ninja whispered angrily but stilled as he felt a certain familiar coolness against his neck. Shit.

How the hell had he managed to find him through his genjutsu? It was one of his strongest! No mere genin should have been able to look through it! Who was this kid?

"Surprised?" A soft whisper confronted him and flexed his kunai ever so slightly to freeze him as he was about to react. Damn it, the kid knew how to work in these kind of situations. He waited silently and narrowed his eyes as he felt coolness leave for just a second. The brat was going to knock him out… he would have simply sliced his neck if he had wanted to kill him.

Just the moment he had been waiting for.

Ichirou swirled around and kicked the kid in the stomach, making him loose his breath and proceeded to tackle him out of the tree and to the ground. His eye widened though when the kid suddenly twisted him around with such an agility that reminded him of those damn tree-huggers when they were fighting in the tre-

Shit.

Within seconds, his hands were quickly moving in seals but the kid's hands quickly clamped around them and kept him locked in his hold. He was unable to fight the gravity. He was a weapon-user and genjutsu user for a reason. His ninjutsu was his weak point. He wouldn't be able to blast himself out of this situation.

So the only thing he could do was to close in on the face that was hidden in that damn cloak and get a good look at the face of this stranger. His eyes blanked out ever so slightly as he was able to take in the scars that the kid had. That could explain the limb, the Rock Ninja mused as they continued falling to the ground. He wondered how the kid managed to move after Ichirou had been able to slice through one of the leg's muscles.

He couldn't help feel just a tiny bit guilty now he knew the exact state the kid had been. A kid that was about the age of his own son. Yet this guilt wasn't enough to keep Ichirou from head-butting the kid's nose just before they landed on the ground. After all, it was the only revenge that he got before they hit the ground.

He coughed out as they landed hard. It hurt much more than he expected. He tried to push the kid away from him, but the figure had already used his moment of regaining his senses to turn him on his belly and straddle him to keep him in a complicated hold. As soon as he noticed what the brat was doing, Ichirou tried to push once more but though the kid seemed weak, he used the perfect technique to keep him under him.

He turned his head to glare at the kid as he spoke. "Why kill them?" The voice sounded young, so naïve…

"Huh?" Ichirou frowned at the child in front of him. "What the hell are you talking about kid? I'm a ninja." He growled and tried to get away once more.

"So you would just kill a family like that?" A few drops of water dropped on the ground next to him. It took some moments for the ninja to realize that it had dripped down from the cloaked figure's face. Ichirou stared at the child in wonder. Had he gotten his scars because he had been attacked himself? Why else would the kid care?

"Look kid, the world is a hard and difficult place. Judging from your scars, you have faced plenty of hardness before. So open up your eyes and see the world for what it is already." Ichirou snapped, having realized that the child made no move to end his life yet. His eye flickered to the direction his partner should be. How was he doing?

"Do you have a family?"

Ichirou's eyes flickered back to the kid and remained silent. There were many times that he was not proud of what he did, but it was part of his job, his life and his existence. There was no way to ignore an order. If he was told to kill them, he had to believe in his village to have good reasons for it. His thoughts flickered to his own family, wondering what they would think if they knew about these kinds of missions. Would his son fear him? Would he also question hi-

"I thought so…" The voice got him out of his thoughts. He looked at the figure that was hovering over him before he finally decided that he had gathered enough chakra. A tiny smirk was all the warning that the young teenager got before he was thown off the ninja's back. The kid let out a groan as he hit the tree a short distance away.

"You shouldn't talk so much." The Rock-ninja muttered as he closed in on the kid.

The child struggled to get back to his feet but Ichirou was already in front of him. His hand reached around the child's throat to keep him against the tree and pulled on the hood of the cloak. He frowned when it wouldn't budge. He tried again before he smirked in understanding. Adding a little chakra to his tug, it finally moved. He moved his leg to stop the kick that the kid threw at him and rendered him immobile once again.

Time for some information gathering.

"So you don't want your face to be seen huh? Ashamed of your scars?" He questioned, actually curious as he studied them. For a child to have such scars… he mentally shivered as he tried to understand how he got it.

The kid's only eye glared at him but he didn't say anything. "What is your name?" He decided to ask, but he was once again met with silence. Tightening his hold to remind the child of the situation once again, he asked again.

"I don't know."

Oh really? His eyes narrowed. Was the child famous enough to be seen as a threat? Was the child being hunted and afraid to give his name away? Now that he thought about it. The features of the young man did seem slightly familiar.

"I'm telling the truth." The teenager growled at him and, as was his habit, the confession made him check the young ninja's eyes in order to see whether he was telling the truth or not. His eyes widened when he suddenly froze.

Sharingan.

'Don't look, don't lo-' His thoughts warned him, but he was too late as they were already spinning. 'Sleep. Sleep.'

As darkness suddenly started to overwhelm him, the ninja couldn't help but ponder whether the red eyes he had seen had been a genjutsu, his imagination, or actually real. His eyes narrowed as he felt himself fall asleep against his will.

Escaping from his grip, the child once again threw him on the ground and straddled him while keeping the eye on the man's face. The slight disruption of movement allowed his a few seconds to fight against the hypnotizing eyes. Yet, he could already feel himself slipping away.

'Well that won't do.' He thought to himself as he used a little burst of chakra to make sure to get a little revenge. So right before he was knocked unconsciousness, he managed to head-but the kid right in the face.

~ Scene Break ~

Itai!

Naruto winched as he cradled his nose with both his hands. That hurt! He frowned in annoyance when he felt the blood already dripping through his hands. That had been a mean shot. A very smart, sneaky and mean last shot. Something Naruto could have come up with himself.

He stayed down for a moment, caught off guard when a sudden dizziness overwhelmed him. So a Shadow Clone was really that tiring to make?

Damn it. There went his favorite technique.

Giving a final glare at the ninja, as if it were his fault, Naruto didn't even think about killing him immediately. There had never been a real killing intent directed towards him and Naruto liked to return the favor. It might be war and they might have attacked those people, but this ninja was not as crazy as the other one had been.

No he wouldn't kill him yet.

Instead, Naruto would have to see how dangerous he was and what information he would be able to get from him. A little 'chat' might work, Naruto decided. A perfect combination if Naruto were to say so. After all, he had a family waiting for him at home and Naruto - while very much aware of it - would avoid killing people with family if he could help it.

Instead he would try to... make them less dangerous.

Naruto grabbed a rope that he had managed to get his hands on and started tying the man up. The rope wasn't the best quality there was, but it would be able to keep the man restrained for at least a couple of hours. If it took any longer, the rope would probably snap if the man were to struggle against it the whole time.

'So it is best to restrict as much movement as possible.'

The ninja tightened the knots a little bit more as he didn't know how good they were at escaping in times like these. If he was back on time he would be able to get some questions answered. He couldn't help but grin at the idea of getting some clear answers.

He rubbed his eye, his mind still reeling from the powerful feeling that had overtaken him when he noticed just how easy it had been to hypnotize the man in front of him. He was sure that he had done a couple of things while being in the man's mind, but he couldn't remember all of them. His only intention had been to knock the man out. What was wrong with his eye?

He placed the last knot and cut of the leftovers of the rope.

'Fox? Was that your doing?'

He was plainly ingored.

Naruto wasn't sure whether or not he should use the Sharingan again any time soon. The sense of invincibility was very strong when he had used it.

'No wonder all those Uchiha go crazy.' Naruto thought as he frowned. He had cut off the chakra from his eye already but the itching in his eye wouldn't leave. Still, he didn't have much time to worry about that now.

Pinching his nose, Naruto sneaked back to the clearing where the wagon stood. A quick glance at the scene told him enough. They had managed to knock out the Rock Ninja and were now taking care of the girl's parents. He did not care enough to think about what they were going to do with the ninja.

Maybe questioning or something else. Those guys weren't ninja, he wasn't sure how their minds worked. It was at least none of their business.

"Masami! Michi!" The woman yelled out desperately.

It wasn't difficult to figure out who she meant. He paused for a moment, debating whether or not to show himself, but decided against it. He might head attacked and with his right leg feeling like jelly and his head swaying and pounding at the same time, Naruto wasn't sure whether he would be able to explain himself before he would collapse.

So instead he made his way back to the place he had let the children hid, while making sure that the hood of his cloak was once again secure on his head. The girl had her hand clamped on her little brother's mouth who was watching him with fearful eyes as he approached. The girl flinched when she spotted the blood on his cloak, face and well…nearly everywhere.

"It's safe." Naruto whispered and decided not to offer a bloody hand to help them up. Instead he gently nudged the girl as she carried her brother back, nearly running all the way.

He took the little moment of peace to study her. She was little and skinny for her age, but strong enough to carry her brother around without too much trouble. Her light brown hair had been braided in two separate braids that reached down in front her shoulders. Her simple brown trousers and a light brown shirt wereslightly worn-out. He estimated her to be about eight years old.

Her younger brother had the same hair color, though he had a few lighter streaks here and there. The clothes were similar to the girl's clothes, though his shirt was black. He guessed the boy was about four or five years old.

"Mommy!"

"Masami!" Was the desperate and relieved reply.

The girl now really broke into a run and Naruto stopped. He glanced behind him then back to the scene in front of him. He really shouldn't approach them again, but he was hurt and was sure that he would collapse very soon. There wasn't any good cover nearby and…

He swayed and his hand reached out to get a hold of a nearby tree.

'No I still need to get information from the other ninja.'

Naruto felt like he needed to puke. His surroundings were twisting and turning and he felt his body shudder. What was this?

"Mommy, there! He helped u-" Came the girl's voice and it was approaching too quickly.

Shit. The guards would most likely follow. Naruto frowned and tried to push away from the tree but his hand was not cooperating with him. No instead he fell down to his knees and hissed as his right knee protested painfully.

Voices surrounded him but Naruto couldn't really make it out anymore. Before he knew it, his arm was slung around someone's neck and he was carried away. He tensed but couldn't stop them and couldn't do much more than to accept his fate.

Well they hadn't killed him yet, so that was good news.

"Wh…ong…im?"

"Dn't ow"

"Why o…ink?"

"Ch…exhau…"

Chakra-exhaustion? Naruto managed to pick up and let a chuckle escape to him. Off all the things that he came up with… chakra exhaustion hadn't been one of them. Of course, now to think about it, all his symptoms matched. How foolish of him. He really should have to keep a better track of them. He felt himself be put down and tried to protest but was pushed down gently on - what he assumed to be - the wagon.

"We got you… rest" That was the last thing Naruto heard before he finally passed out.

When he opened his eyes he found himself back into the familiar forest bathed into the moonlight. He approached the Kyuubi who seemed to be sleeping in his cage, snoring loudly as he did. Naruto glanced at the direction in which he knew Obito was hidden.

A quick look couldn't hurt.

"**Brat. You are pathetic." **Was the soft growl that caught his ears as he walked away and for once Naruto couldn't help but agree with the fox.

~ A few days later ~

Naruto's eyes snapped open and scanned the camp site they had set up, as was his habit. He had awoken three days ago, much to the happiness of the children who had taken quite a liking to them. For some reason they had managed to get past all the patrols in the two days that he had been unconsciousness.

The little family had eventually shared their basic story with him. They were traders by heart. The wife and husband originally came from Fire and Rock respectively, and had lived in Rock ever since the children had been born. However, after business got worse and conflicts with the husband's family got worse, they had started to make plans to move to Konoha, where part of the wife's family lived.

Unfortunately, the war broke out before they could.

Once it had broken out, no sane person would have dared to move to the enemy's territory. However, once the grandmother of Michi and Masami became ill, they had decided that it was time. The parents wanted their children to see the other part of the family too and the condition in Rock was problematic once everyone found out where the wife actually came from. Naruto didn't want to pry so he didn't ask any further.

In the end, they had admitted that they had been planning this escape for years and that this had been the only opportunity to get past.

Naruto wasn't sure how they had gotten to know about this route, but he allowed them to have their secrets. After all, he had his own.

His eyes flickered to the children that were now sleeping near the campfire. They had met a large group of other travellers yesterday and decided to travel along tomorrow, as it would be safer. The guards were watching him warily, but had not been able to find any threat – how could they in this state? – and so didn't bother him.

Still he knew that he was making them uncomfortable. He would be too, when he refused to give them his name. "I don't know" didn't really take away their suspicions.

Still it was at least better than telling the truth.

'Hi I'm Uchiha Obito! I just got crushed by boulders and left behind by my teammates because they thought I was dead. I nearly was but because another spirit is now possessing this body and brought the spirit of a demon fox along with him, I got healed. Oh guess what! I'm actually that spirit. But please don't tell anyone! Anyway I will be going now, because I really am not ready to go to the Leaf yet! Bye!'

Nope, not going that route.

It had taken a few tries to let them know that he didn't want anything from them. They had been expecting him to ask for something in return of helping them. They had indirectly saved their life after all. However Naruto didn't want anything. "I'm glad you let me keep my secrets." He had instead stated and though they probably weren't happy with it, they had accepted his silent request.

The only question he had answered was when Masami asked why he didn't know who he was.

"I got hit really hard on the head a while ago and ever since, I'm not sure who I am." He had reluctantly answered, twisting his words in a way that he wasn't lying to her.

Naruto really didn't want anything from them. They had managed to get him past the border and that was enough for now. Instead, he was planning to leave. They were heading to Konoha and he would not follow. No he would remain at the borders. He knew there should be a cave somewhere in the neighborhood. He would train there.

Determined, Naruto got out of the wagon and slipped away.

"Ninja-san." A small voice called out, sounding confused, making Naruto freeze in error. How had the two brats spotted him?

Damn it, he must be really losing his touch.

**~End Chapter ~**

So our favourite ninja found his way back to Fire Nation without _too_ much trouble. Will he be able to avoid conflict in these familiar lands?

Who knows! Time for some_ FeedMeBack_! :D Liked it so far? (sorry no familiar faces yet, but those won't be far away!) I hope to hear from you soon!

Till next time!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary****: **It is not for nothing that Naruto has gotten the reputation of being the most surprising ninja. As if to keep this reputation, the blond often lands himself in unusual situations that ask for the most unusual solutions. However, after fighting Madara to the bitter end and caught up in a clash of jutsus, waking up in Obito's body and buried under piles of stones was not something even Naruto thought possible. How will Naruto take care of the upcoming threat of Akatsuki and Madara in a past he does not know while starting a new legend for Uchiha Obito?

**Beta****:** Dear**Beloved Daughter**! Thank you!

Hello readers that are (luckily) still interested in the story! Thanks for all the encouragement! It pushed me a bit to finish it this week.

Even though I will curse myself tomorrow during college. I really should have read that book by now.

I got some comments about many typos. I'm sorry for those mistakes. I find myself to write with the 'sounds' in my head, so I usually make those 'similar sound but different spelling mistakes'. Unfortunately I don't have enough time to check everything (most of the time I'm actually in a hurry while writing). So if anyone would be willing to check and correct these mistakes, I would be very happy and grateful.

In the meantime I hope that you guys enjoy the story for now!

Enjoy!

**Chapter 4: Dead Weight**

Naruto sighed and paused in his steps. He liked the kids and decided that it would be very rude to just leave them like that. However, he didn't want to turn around in case they decided to use those adorable faces of them to their advantage. He could swear that they knew exactly how to use that weapon to their fullest potential.

"Where are you going?" The girl's voice called out.

"Away?" He answered uncertainly, still not turning around.

"Why?" His lips pressed together in uncertainty before he finally did turn around. As the ninja turned around to look at the two children, he immediately noticed that they were indeed staring at him with _those_big eyes.

"Because I have to find my own path." He eventually answered.

The children frowned at the answer. "What is wrong with our path?" Masami asked, confused and sad.

"It's not the path of a ninja." Naruto answered, not even bothering to tell them about the difficult missions he would have to face in the future. 'Sorry I can't join you because I have to train in order not to get killed in all the dangerous situations that I'm sure I will get myself into.' Nope, better not tell them that.

"But what if bad ninja will come and…" Michi started babbling, scared.

Naruto sighed. For some reason, these kids had taken a liking to him. He had no clue why they trusted him so much, but even Michi, the young boy, wasn't afraid of him anymore. Even when they had seen him without his hooded cloak. If anything, instead of becoming afraid of the scars, the children only got more curious. His ears still rang from all the questions they had pestered him with.

They certainly hadn't been shy around him.

"They won't." He tried to reassure them. At least, knowing the old man Hokage, he was fairly sure that he would let them enter the city. That and any Leaf ninja worth their money would recognize them as harmless and not provoke him behind checking up on them.

They were silent for a while, not wanting to doubt his words.

Naruto watched them glance at each other before Michi gave Masami a slight shove. She gave him an irritated look but didn't push her little brother back.

"Will you come and visit us sometime soon?" Masami whispered eventually and Naruto felt something in him crumble. His surroundings swayed momentarily before a sudden déjà vu hit him.

"_Nii-san, will you come back soon?" A young fuzzy figure with black hair asked him. _

He shook his head. He never had seen that memory before. Who was that? An Uchiha?

'Shit. I don't need Obito's memories to resurface whole the time. If that happens at a tight situation…'

"Maybe." He said in a distracted manner, which made the children look down in disappointment. He refused to make promised that he wasn't sure that he would be able to keep. His last promise…

'Sasuke…'

"You never know." He continued and suddenly froze once again when they suddenly hugged him tightly. His muscles tensed at the sudden human contact. It had been a long time ago that someone had actually hugged him, let alone touched him without the purpose of killing or healing him. After his friends had died… He pushed the sadness away and instead smiled. The ninja let a slight awkward chuckle escape, trying not to show that they were hurting his leg.

"Take care of each other alright?" He patted them uncomfortably on the head.

"Yes Ninja-san!"

"Good." Naruto smiled and with a last nod to the guard hidden in the tree, he slipped away.

Maybe… maybe he would see them again.

Naruto jumped into the trees and automatically pushed chakra in his legs. After a minute of running mindlessly, he abruptly stopped on a bench, nearly slipping in the process. His eyes widened as soon as he noticed that he was able to use his chakra again. He quickly found a place that provided him some cover and settled down. Frowning, he shifted himself into the lotus position to meditate in order to look at the chakra blocks that had been there previously.

He was surprised with what he found. They were gone.

'How could they have disappeared like that? The fox said that they would remain there for a while at least….'

"Hey fox!" He called out as he stepped out into the familiar clearing.

"**What is it little Gaki, finally figured it out?" **The fox drawled at him, lazily opening one eye to emphasize his thoughts.

"Oh shut up Furball! How did it happen? I thought you said tha-" The ninja started before he was interrupted.

"**I know what I said Monkeyboy. I didn't do anything… well not much. You did most of it yourself**." The fox smirked in amusement as he noted the confused face of the mortal in front of him, but didn't care to explain any further.

"Well are you going to ex-"

"**No."**

"Stop interrupting m-"

"**No"**

"Would you just qui-

"**No."**

"Argh! You stup-"

"**Whatever. Go away brat, I was sleeping."**

The fox let out a deep amused chuckle as the young man in front of him scowled in a rather childish manner and walked way angrily.

He wondered when the brat would figure it out. The brat may be a big softy to his enemies, but a part of him had learned from many mistakes in the past. Kyuubi grinned ever so slightly. The kid was finally learning.

Not that the fox cared… he didn't care at all. He wasn't feeling just a little tiny bit slightly proud of the ninja… At least that was what the fox kept telling himself.

At the same time, Naruto – even though annoyed – couldn't help but ponder how he got rid of it. There was this nagging feeling in the back of his head like he should know, but he couldn't quite reach it yet.

Ah well, as long as it was gone, it wasn't that important right?

~ Back in Rock Country ~ 

Ichirou grumbled as he finally managed to free himself. That rope might have looked frail, but it was certianly a lot stronger than he had expected. Surprisingly, the ninja had been knocked out for about two days. He had just managed to free himself before a patrol finally found him. He had not been amused by their demanding yet amused attitude but reluctantly gave a report. However they soon stumbled on a problem.

"Who were you fighting?"

Ichirou automatically opened his mouth to answer but found himself unable to. His eyes widened in surprise and he tried again. His three colleagues watched him with mixed expressions.

"Ichirou-kun, are you alright?" A female voice called out to him as he rubbed his eyes.

There was still strange sensation building up behind his eyes that was quite difficult to shake off.

Said ninja blinked in confusion before shaking his head. "I-" He felt relieved that he at least could still talk. "Something is blocking me to speak about that subject." He admitted and then raised a hand to his head. "And I feel like the details are becoming vaguer… I might be slowly forgetting."

The ninja surrounding him frowned. His ex-teammate looked worried, while one of them watched him suspiciously. "Quit playing around Ichirou-baka. I'm not going to beg for information from you."

"What did you call me?" The weapon-expert growled, clenching his fist in a threatening manner.

"Hey calm down you two!" The female member called out. She was using a tone that let them know that she was serious.

Her name was Emi. No last name. She was an orphan that had once been dropped at an orphanage, with only a small note with the name 'Emi' left behind. She never tried to change her name, nor did she allow any family name to be given to her. Though she was not as pretty as her name suggested, quite a few men considered her to be quite attractive. Unfortunately for the men, she didn't have the patience to deal with them and was too skilled in combat for anyone to try. Only Ichirou had managed to get her to date him for a while. Yet that had been a long time ago, before the war, and they had both agreed that they just didn't belong together that way.

Repressing a shudder, the two stepped away from each other.

"Open your mouth Ichirou."

Grumbling slightly, the man complied. She inspected his mouth but couldn't find anything. "Odd." She mumbled.

"If someone had caught you with a seal, it would have explained this situation, but I can't anything." She continued, her hands glowing slightly as gave him a quick check-up.

The other waited patiently as she reached to check the rest of his body, but tensed when she suddenly froze.

"Emi-san?"

"This is…wow." She mumbled, before focusing back on the 'subject' in front of her. Ichirou was now feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"What is wrong?" He tried, but the woman ignored him and gave him an order instead. "Gather some chakra to your hands."

"Ehh?" Echoed through the group but knowing not to mess with the woman when she was like this, the rock ninja didn't hesitate to follow her 'request'. He gathered the chakra in his hands easily, silently enjoying the tingling sensation that it provided.

"Now what?"

"Try a small jutsu." She said, taking a step around him so he had the room to do so. He gave her a questioning glance but didn't bother to object. His ninjutsu sucked, but he could at least still do a few back earth jutsu.

Mumbling out a name, he pushed his chakra forward to provide the energy so that the ro-

His eyes widened, as did those of his comrades.

"I can't." He whispered.

"So I was right. There are these… blocks in your chakra pathway. Whoever you were fighting was really skilled. I would have no idea how he did it." She mumbled, actually having the guts to look _fascinated _by the situation.

"Emi how could you-"

"Ah calm down. I noticed them breaking down very slowly, so you will be alright in about… a couple of months?"

"What?" Ichirou exclaimed in horror, before anger replaced it. "Oh I'm so going to kill that that-" He growled and froze when the others looked at him.

"Tch…calm down Emi. Look at it the bright side." She said as she poked him in the side as if she was still looking him over.

"But-!"The ninja protested.

"So that won't be that much of a problem seeing as you will most likely be send to lower missions anyway since you screwed up the other pretty bad." She said in such a freeway manner that made the others wonder if she was really meaning it or just making fun of the man.

Ichirou sweat-dropped.

"Hey that is not tr-"

"But seeing as you fought someone with this power, I think they won't blame you."

The rest of the Rock Ninjas watched in amusement at the scene right in front of them. One even had to hide a soft chuckle as the male Rock-ninja became more and more aggravated.

"Could you stop interu-"

"Which means that you will also have more time to spend with your family!"

"Would you ju-" This time the kunoichi didn't stop him, but he stopped talking as her words sank in.

"_Do you have a family?"_

The memory resurfaced once before it became vaguer again.

Letting out a deep sigh he nodded his head. In troubled times like this, a little bit of rest did sound very appealing. He could finally help his son with throwing senbon and little more time with his wife would also be very much appreciated.

"Fine…"He grumbled. "I guess I won't kill the little brat."

"_Little _Brat?" His team echoed, making Ichirou tense when he realized what he had just admitted. Of all the things that he couldn't share with them it had to be this that slipped out of his mouth…

"Seriously?" Emi chuckled, before she and the others started laughing rather loudly.

Ichirou growled at them and charged forward to playfully tackle them.

'On the other hand… if I meet him again, I will kick his ass.'

~ About three months later ~ 

Hidden behind a camouflage of trees and leaves, a lone figure was staring at the small fire he had just managed to get started. Looking at the figure, most people would have been scared away. The stranger's face – the parts that were visible - looked like it had been maimed. There were ugly scars and marks covering the boy's flesh, which even the boy's friend would not heal for its chakra would hurt this body extensively if he were to use it any further.

The only thing they could do was to continue healing the body little by little.

The young stranger had already accepted this, knowing that its sacrifice had saved the life of a man that he held dear.

"Obito, you really are a good person you know that?" The stranger mumbled to himself, having just awoken from another flashback of another memory that belonged to the boy's life. Something that often happened to him in the last three months.

Any outsider who saw him say that to 'himself' would have claimed the boy to be a bit whacked in the head. However, seeing as how Naruto was in control of the body, one might overlook it for this time.

The young boy had let his hair grow in the last couple of months and it covered his left eye as he looked down at the fire. He had gotten used to wrapping a couple of bandages around his face. It especially covered his left eye and the right part of his face that had not been able to heal properly without a medical ninja to attend to him.

Naruto had complained many times that it reminded him of Danzo, which was manly why he had tried to wrap it in a different style.

The goggles that he had been wearing when he had awakened had been partly broken and hung around the boy's neck. If his face had been healed, he would have worn them, but unfortunately it still hurt to wear it. The skin was still sensitive there.

The ninja also still couldn't use his right eye for a very long period of time, even though he had been 'recovering' for about four months already. Still, he could activate his sharingan on demand after about a month of trying –and two times of passing out because he didn't notice how fast his chakra had been running out. This forced him to sometimes become 'blind' in the cave so that the eye got some rest.

Yet, this didn't mean that Naruto hadn't become stronger. In the last couple of months, Naruto had been training his new body extensively ever since he had reached the cave. While nowhere near the level he had gained in his own body before he was sent back, the practices were getting easier and easier.

Naruto estimated that at his current level he could manage to defeat a Chuunin now and with a little bit of effort a normal to higher-level Chuunin. That is if they didn't fight for any longer than half an hour extensively and he had not been pushing himself too hard beforehand. If he were to use his 'special powers', he might be able to take on someone with Jounin level.

That is… if he got enough chakra and got him or her within a few blows.

He sighed in a depressed manner.

Had he ever mentioned how much he hated having to revalidate the normal way without Kyuubi's chakra or a healer to help him? So far, Naruto had been fairly content with his progress, although he hated the fact that it took so _long! _The process of letting this body get used to the red chakra was slow and painful.

Naruto poked the fire with a short stick, letting his right half-lidded eye stare into the enrapturing show of light.

His body was finally ready to travel but the ninja was suddenly feeling reluctant. If he were to go back… he would change a lot. He could disrupt the timeline. On one hand he could save so many people. He could warn them about the threats that Konoha would face in the future.

On the other hand he could also change things accidentally for the worse. Besides that, there was the fact that nobody would probably trust him. After all, how could he have survived something like that? He would probably be seen as an imposter.

But then what about Madara? He glowered simply by thinking the name, before shaking his head. How would he stop the other Kyuubi? What about his father? His mother? What about Kakashi-sensei? It felt _wrong _to confront them as someone he had lost, while he wasn't actually Obito. But would he let Kyuubi roam again? Would he let his father sacrifice himself again? Would he let his mother die?

He probably wouldn't.

But how the hell would he be able to stop the Kyuubi of all demons at his current level anyway? He didn't have the toad contract either anymore; he had already tried and failed summoning a toad. The Rasengan was a big no and using the fox's chakra was also not a good idea. Which left the Sharingan, but he was not even close to mastering that stupid eye.

Naruto let out a heavy sigh. This topic had been on his mind for a couple of months already.

'**Kid_…'_**

Naruto's head snapped up. It was rare for Kyuubi to contact him when there was nothing wrong. The lazy fox liked his sleep after all. 'Yeah Kyuubi?'

"**How much I hate to say it… the sharingan you now possess is one of the strongest I have ever encountered."**

Naruto frowned not understanding what the demon what trying to tell him. Was this about the fight nearly a month ago?

'So what does that mean?' Naruto thought right back. They were both well aware that it was difficult for the ninja to use the sharingan in his current state.

"**It might be one of the few to rival Madara's power…" **The demon admitted and Naruto finally read between the lines, something that the demon had been forcing him to do the last couple of months in their discussion, because 'the great Kyuubi could not work together with a knucklehead that would take everything for what it was'.

"So you are saying that I might be able to control the other you…?"Naruto couldn't help but sound doubtful at that statement.

"**Yes, not only because of the eye, but for a demon, time and space is not as strictly bonded to them as it is to humans. ****A connection between two souls on the other hand…" **

Naruto's eyes widened. "The other you is already connected to me?"

"**In a sense… I would have to merge."**

There was a heavy pause.

Shit.

Naruto poked the wood in the fire a little more angrily. "You would be free for a moment then… and if I can't control your furious self… everything will be screwed. At the same time, if you were able to get free from Madara, you would eventually be found by the Akatsuki." Naruto ignored the fox's protest, as they both were fully aware that the fox, while the strongest of all demons, did have some weak points. Madara would find any way to get him back. "…then put into that freaky statue and forced to merge with all the other demons. However if we are once again completely connected by soul, they won't be able to do that."

There was another heavy silence.

"So you actually _want _your other self to be connected with me?"

Naruto could feel the fox grinning in his mind. "**You may be annoying brat, but if I were to be connected to someone I prefer to have someone strong-willed. ****However much of an idiot…" **

"Hey!"

"…**you might be nearly all the time…"**

"Hey!"

"**I have actually been enjoying this little adventure with you. At least you are entertaining in contrast to all those previous containers. So waiting a little longer until you die after having taken care of that damn Uchiha won't be that bad" **

"He- what?" Naruto blinked in surprise.

"**Forget it kid… While nearly having to 'rebuild' this body, I'm finally slowly managing to widen the pathways of the chakra, much like the ones you had when you were younger. Once the body will adapt to the presence of my chakra, my other self could merge with me." **

"Hold it Kyuubi, what can go in, can also get out. How do I know that you won't merge with the you that is standing right outside of your body?"

They might be friendly with each other, but Naruto was full aware of the fact that the fox liked its freedom.

Kyuubi's mental grin widened even further and Naruto repressed a shudder. "**You simply don't."**

"You know that Madara would fi..."

Naruto was too late as the fox had already gone back to his sleep – most likely believing that the Uchiha brat wouldn't be that much of a danger to him - and Naruto was left behind with a sour expression. The fox really had to stop cutting him off like that. While the conversation let him know that he could stop the Kyuubi from attacking the village, he also realized that if the fox were to break free he would definitely go after Madara. Who knows how many people would get hurt in that little hunt?

Naruto ran his hand though his hair in worry.

'This is why I don't like to do a lot of thinking.' He thought as he massaged his temples. It was far too tiring and depressing.

The ninja closed his right eye, keeping track of the heat of the fire by the slight orange glow that filtered through his eyelid. There was still would attack in a couple of months. It would be enough for him to get strong enough to take him on, but if what Kyuubi said was right…

What the hell was he going to do?

He would have to warn Konoha… and he really didn't want to confront the memories of that place. He would be far too distracted to fight.

A sudden idea hit him and for the first time in a few weeks Naruto actually smiled.

He did not need to disturb anything! He would not have to go back to Konoha yet. Well at least not enter Konoha. He just had to make sure that he would encounter the Kyuubi after it was released from his Mother when it was on its way back to the village and before his father would fight him. Before either of his parents was killed.

He would somehow have to evade Madara and take control from there. That way, he would render Madara's plan useless and release his mother from the burden of keeping the demon within her. If he were fast enough, he would not need to interfere with the people that were not really his!

He would be able to wander around the countries for a while before eventually returning to the Leaf when Obito woke up.

Yeah, he would wait for Obito to wake up instead. It was only fair.

With that decision, he ignored his aching heart that wanted nothing less than run back to Konoha and meet his parents.

~About a month later ~ 

The ninja staggered on his way to his cave, ignoring the limb that he had difficult to repress in the last hour or so.

Stupid Rock Ninja, messing up with his bad leg again.

Naruto groaned out in pain as he grabbed his side. Alright maybe it wasn't the Rock Ninja's fault.

Damn he just had to push himself a little over his limit, didn't he?

Naruto sighed in annoyance as he finally gave in to the urge to lower himself to the ground, knowing that if he were to go any further than this, he would fall head-first to the ground. It was not like it hadn't happened any time before. The ninja rubbed his nose at the memory as he caught his breath.

He managed to lean himself against one of the trees that were lining up on small muddy road that was rarely – like never – used.

The ninja was still in the outer skirts of Fire Country, pushing himself to become stronger in preparation. Taking another deep breath, he frowned slightly at the pain of his leg.

He had pushed too much chakra through it when he had to take a quick jump to 'get out of sight' of his invisible enemy. He had of course 'remained unnoticed', but he was now paying the price. That and the fox now labeled him a mental nutcase, though that comment had been easily ignored. His eyes twitched as he stretched his leg, knowing that it would be sore for the next couple of hours. His only eye, this time hidden by the familiar pair of goggles, surveyed his surroundings.

Normally his instincts would be screaming for him to get out of the way even though it was a small tiny muddy road, out of plain sight, but for some reason he felt strangely calm. Still, just to be sure, he managed to shuffle himself on the other side of the tree though. As this was a route he usually took, he had luckily discovered that this tree had a slightly hollow space that he could hide in, so that any passer-by would ignore him.

Finally feeling like he could get some well-deserved rest, his right eye dropped ever so slightly. He was so tired. Having been living on what his surroundings provided and paranoid about any enemies near, he had not been able to get the rest that his body needed.

He felt himself sack forward ever so slightly.

Naruto groaned. He shouldn't be falling asleep. Not in times like these…

So the ninja decided to take a slight nap instead.

It was only his hearing that saved him from being completely caught off guard. There was a sound of ninja rustling through the trees above him. He recognized the sounds their tree-hopping technique. They were Konoha ninja.

'No threat' His mind categorized the newcomers, though one chakra-signature felt strangely familiar. Where had he felt that before? His hearing picked up an order to stop and the group was silent for a moment, as they must have taken notice of him.

"…chakra..?" He barely heard someone call out.

Naruto tensed and returned to his full awareness, though he kept the image of being asleep.

Suddenly there was a loud gasp and one of the ninja's suddenly appeared in front of him. It took Naruto a lot of effort not to tense. The ninja was close, most likely crouched just in front of him in the opening of Naruto's little resting place.

'Please go away. Please don't let it be anyone that knows O…' He mentally prayed.

"O-Obito?" There was a waver in the man's familiar voice.

'…Obito.' Naruto finished with a mental groan as he forced himself to keep very– very – still. Maybe the ninja would let him alone? Maybe he would be able to slip away?

Oh who was he kidding…? Naruto mentally sighed and summed the situation up in one single thought.

'I'm so screwed.'

**~ End Chapter ~**

Guess who! Yes, I'm surprised myself that I have the ability to be that cruel.

**Feedback time! :D **

Hope you guys like the story so far! Please share your thoughts with me? Till next time!

~Dreamyin


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary: **It is not for nothing that Naruto has gotten the reputation of being the most surprising ninja. As if to keep this reputation, the blond often lands himself in unusual situations that ask for the most unusual solutions. However, after fighting Madara to the bitter end and caught up in a clash of jutsus, waking up in Obito's body and buried under piles of stones was not something even Naruto thought possible. How will Naruto take care of the upcoming threat of Akatsuki and Madara in a past he does not know while starting a new legend for Uchiha Obito?

**Beta:** Dear**Beloved Daughter!** Thank you!

Hello my faithful readers whom warm my heart with their interest and all their lovely amount of feedback! Thanks for all so much for the encouragement!

One of you dear reviewers offered to 'Nara' – Lol – for me! Unfortunately dear mysterious reviewer, I don't know how to contact you as you signed an anonymous review, so please log in this time? Or is there any other way to contact? I could – coughreallycough – use some help as not to annoy the rest of the reviewers any longer with my typos. Hehe.

I'm also pleased with the slight lack of annoyed reviews at my cliffy last chapter and amused by the ones I did get.

Still, to make up for it, I made the chappie _longer! _and _reread _the whole chapter like three times to check for mistakes. To finish it off, I also tried to write the perfect encounter… tried. Let me know what you think later on alright? In the meantime, I will go on an knock myself out with all those assignments that I should have finished by now. Fair trade no?

Enjoy!

**Chapter 5: Reluctant Weight**

'I'm so screwed'. Naruto thought in a rather dramatic manner, but kept silent.

"Uchiha Obito? Is that you?" The voice asked more firmly this time. It had an underlying shakiness to it, which could indicate that 'Obito' could be someone dear to him. That only made Naruto tense up even more. The shinobi wouldn't let him escape if he was.

This was _not_going according to plan.

He was glad that he had pulled the goggles over his face before he went to nap, even though they had been damaged. It gave him some sense of security as he tried to see what or even better 'who' was approaching him. The one-eyed shinobi subtly peeked at the figure in front of him, but he could only see the standard shinobi outfit. Lifting his head would catch the man's attention, so Naruto refrained from doing so.

Too bad that the man was already planning on getting his attention anyway.

Naruto blinked slowly and startled ever so slightly as he was not prepared to suddenly see a hand reaching out for him.

'Too close! Too close!'

Naruto's instincts kicked in and he intercepted the hand, which had been slowly reaching forward to touch his shoulder, with a quick slap to the side. His eye snapped open – which he could only open as far as being half-lidded - in panic and he moved.

'Move. Get away. Get away!' His mind screamed at him.

He managed to slip past the surprised man in front of him and heard the voice shout an order to stop him.

"Obito wait!"

Naruto didn't listen. He was not the person that the man was calling out to. Even though the memories that were currently rushing through his mind might say otherwise, he was not Obito. The memories caught him offguard, sure, but he wasn't Obito!

'_Hi__,__nice to meet you! I'm Obito!'_

'Get out of my head!'

"_Obito!" Another voice said with an annoyed tone to it. "It wasn't me!"_

'Shut up!'

The inner conflict only caused the 'young' boy to become more confused and he was slowly losing track of himself. He was not Obito! He was not part of Obito! Obito was not part of him! Go away. Go away! What was going on?

With a frustrated growl he sprinted forward even faster.

"Stop him, don't hurt him!" The voice sounded familiar… too familiar.

'_Obito calm down!'_

'I'm trying!'

Oh shit. Oh shit.

He managed to run past one other ninja and dodge a grab from another – chuunin herealized – before his leg protested. Shit. The muscle suddenly went slack and he lost his balance. His knee hit the ground and he caught himself with his hand, ready to sprint away again.

'I'm not going to push myself that far in training againanytime soon… I should have known better!' He scolded himself. He might have been in an isolated area, but this proved once again that that wasn't a reason to become less paranoid.

The young ninja barred his teeth in frustration as he started to take another sprint. Unfortunately, he never got the chance.

The raven-haired Uchiha growled out in pain as he was tackled to the ground. He noted that the technique that was used - having arms wrapped around him and no weight being pushed on him as they fell - was one of the gentlesttechniques for tackles. This only gave him more conformation that he was in the presence of someone close to Obito. The second that they lost their momentum and laid still, the attacker pushed him to the ground, restraining him in the process.

'Obito's' eye widened.

His escape was cut off.

No!

He started thrashing on pure instinct.

Most of his skin was still tender from training and the 'accident', even after all those months. He hissed out in pain once in a while but despite the fact that it hurt, he struggled against his captor's hold. He tried to grab one of his few remaining kunai but they stopped his hand from reaching in his pouch.

He growled out. He tried to bite. He tried to claw at the hand that was keeping a hold on his arm. He tried every little trick, even trying to hit his captor in the more sensitive part of his body.

"Calm down!" The one on top of him said as he managed to stop the cheap shot with his own leg.

Naruto's eye narrowed as he noted that it was the very same voice as before.

That didn't do anything to calm the boy down though. He didn't listen to the man at all. He refused to accept that this was actually happening. This was not going according to his plan after all! He had a plan! He couldn't… He couldn't go _there_!

Unfortunately for the black-haired ninja, he didn't have much energy left and eventually ended up panting ever so slightly with his escape still cut off. His chakra was restless and he felt a slight pull in his chakra core from something that he couldn't describe. He would need to be careful, he realized. He didn't have that much chakra left, not enough for one of his hidden cards anyway. He decided to spare as much energy as he could for the moment he would need it.

'Need to rest only for a little bit.' He thought, refusing to think that he was giving up. His captor hadn't really moved that much whole the time he had been fighting him. Though, after he noticed that his comments were not heard, he had been strangely quiet.

As Naruto still laid there restrained as he was, Naruto slowly became finally more aware of the other voices whispering to each other.

"Is it really him?"

"How is that possible?"

There was a short silence and from experience Naruto guessed that they were signing to one another.

"The chakra signature matches perfectly… no way someone can copy that amount of chakra of someone without letting a single bit of his own leak through. Besides that, I know his signature. I checked his chakra." Naruto's eye narrowed at the comment. So _he_ had been the source of that strange pull on his chakra. "It is really him." The male voice on his back stated.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Naruto growled at the ninja surrounding him. He had no clue what he was doing, but it felt right to play the victim for now. Being a victim meant being underestimated. Being a victim meant still being able to escape later on. Yes, that did sound like a good plan.

"He shows no recognition…" One ninja muttered.

"What is wrong with him?" He heard an unfamiliar voice whisper.

There were a few more hushed whispers in the background around him that didn't catch Naruto's attention as he was once again too caught up with trying to struggle against the man. Said man kept him with little effort to the ground by pushing his knee to Naruto's back, patiently waiting for him to stop struggling again. It was as if he knew exactly how to restrain the boy.

'So if he knows Obito's tricks…' Naruto thought.

After a few tries, Naruto tried some of own his old tricks, which seemed to catch the man off guard ever so slightly. Yet the man wasn't a ninja for nothing it seemed, and caught up right away. His chakra was too low to blow the man away and, in the end, he still was a leaf ninja. He didn't want to fatally hurt a fellow comrade.

At the same time, the man was becoming impatient. Reluctantly he pushed also his elbow in the teen's shoulder blades as he nearly managed to slip away.

"Obito…Obito… calm down… it's _me_. Sensei."

There was that annoying goody-goody-talking-to-a-child-tone in his voice again.

"Let me go!" Naruto snarled out, still feeling panicked. It wasn't really _him _right? This was messing up his plan even more!

He couldn't go to Konoha!

He was only here to prepare for the other Kyuubi and confronting Madara. He had to do that all alone! He couldn't face all those faces again. He didn't want to mess things up again.

More hands joined to restrain him – which acted more a show of power than the fact that it was nearly necessary - and he eventually was really too tired to continue. He stilled and let his cheek rest on the ground, panting from all the effort. Sweat dripped down his face and some of it was soaked up by his bandages.

The weight on his back shifted ever so slightly and he was carefully heaved up in a sitting position on his folded legs. Naruto felt the presence on his back leave and shut his eye as it started to throb painfully. He stubbornly tried to pull his arms free from the other hands but it was no use.

"Obito?"

Naruto only had a second to decide on what to do… He wasn't able to pretend that he was really Obito. It felt wrong. So he decided to use a different approach.

He stilled and didn't react to the name.

"Obito?" He was lightly shaken, but he refused to react.

"I'm not…!"He snarled at out before he quickly pushed his lips into a firm line in a stubborn manner, as if he refused to talk.

There was a tense silence.

"You are not what?" The man asked him.

He refused to talk and the man sighed so slightly.

"I'm going to take off your goggles alright?" The familiar voice mumbled to him as if to calm him down, but Naruto only barred his teeth in warning. His body was thirteen physically, meaning a few childish actions were allowed. So Naruto thought it was totally acceptable when he tried to bite the hand that pulled off his - _his_ -precious goggles. He tried to glare but his eye protested at the sudden increase of light. So he closed it as soon as he felt the cold air touch his formerly protected skin.

"Give that back!" He yelled. He tried to stand back up to tackle the man personally, but he couldn't.

"_Don't touch my goggles, teme!"_

It was something valuable to him. _He knew that_. He struggled once more against the hands holding his arms and legs, but he was too weak. He had been training for months to get some of his strength back and here he was, unable to even force the ninja around him to put some effort in restraining him.

He wasn't even able to pull off that time-and-space jutsu with the amount of chakra Obito's body currently had.

How pathetic he felt.

Truly utterly pathetic.

"Those scars…" One of the other ninja whispered softly, so silently that he probably shouldn't have heard it.

"For a kid his age…" Another whispered right back.

Oh great, were they going to pity him now too?

Having paid little to no attention to the man in front of him while listening to the others, he twitched and startled back ever so slightly as a soft wind blew across his face. What the hell was that 'sensei' doing?

As he peered –unnoticed by the others - through the lid of his eye, he noticed that a hand was moving in front of him from one side to the other, trying to find out whether he was able to see what was happening. Naruto didn't respond. His right eye still sometimes hurt when he used it, so he wanted them to underestimate him as much as possible.

"How did you get here?" The man asked and tapped him on his head to get his attention and gained a flinch from the boy at the same time.

Naruto kept silent, showing them that he was stubborn. "Answer me and you will get your goggles back." The man said, sounding slightly amused, as if he knew he would get what he wanted that way, which was completely true.

That was a low move.

Effective, but low. Fine, he would play along.

He bit his lip as if to restrain himself before he snapped out once again, as if he was giving in. "I needed somewhere safe before going home…"He mumbled, deciding to tell the truth.

"What is your home?" Another question? That hadn't been the deal.

He growled ever so slightly to let his annoyance show – though they were most likely fully aware of it anyway.

"Leaf. That place with the faces." _'Konoha'… _

Even indirectly saying it out loud made Naruto's stomach clench with home-sickness. The ninja really wanted to return to his home, the village he had sworn to protect. The fond memories he had there. Unfortunately, and that was exactly the problem, the bad memories came from the exact same place.

There was a slight pause and he flinched when two hands were put on his shoulders. He lowered his head closer to his torso in a defensive move, a way to decrease the amount of neck he exposed. It was a typical instinctive move that ninja made when they were not comfortable. Naruto never thought that all those lessons from Jiraiya on behavior of shinobi and people in general were actually that useful.

The hands on his shoulders twitched ever so slightly, which showed him that the man in front of him had noticed the move.

"Obito, I want you to listen very carefully to my voice… does it seem at all familiar to you?"

Naruto's first instinct was to shake his head very quickly.

No way. He did not know him. He was not going to listen to the rational part of his brain that was being overwhelmed with all those memories of Obito that were actually providing the right information for him at that moment.

Yet, Naruto felt himself starting to slip against all the memories that he gotten from Obito. Obito's life nearly screamed at him to respond. Instead, he forced himself to scrunch up his face and be quiet.

Unfortunately the long silence that followed made him edgy and he eventually couldn't keep silent any longer.

"I know your voice from somewhere…" He admitted towards the voice, so quietly that he wasn't even sure whether the man had heard him.

"Do I know you?" He quickly changed his statement, as if afraid of the answer.

The man in front of him paused, as if pondering about something, before the voice suddenly barked sometimes out, making Naruto flinch.

"You're late!"

Oh,oh.

Before Naruto realized it, one of the suppressed memories was triggered and he couldn't stop himself as he started mumbling through some stupid excuse that Kakashi-sensei would use when he was late.

It was then when it finally clicked. His brain finally calmed down and the confusion that had been overwhelming him mostly disappeared.

His mind finally made a connection to the familiar voice and he flinched back in surprise, as he couldn't deny the truth any longer. Was it _really_him? He knew that the voice was familiar, having heard it before that one time in his mind. Still, to actually hear it in real life was different. He shook ever so slightly as he slumped forwards, as the rush of energy left him. He was reluctant to actually see the truth.

"Obito-kun?" There was an uneasy and questioning tone as he said the simple name.

Naruto flicked his eye open for a moment, trying to exaggerate how much it hurt him to open it. A ninja always had to be careful. However, as soon as he came face to face with the familiar person of him, he relaxed. The man in front of him, the blond hair and the blue eyes, his expression, his familiar face… he could trust him. Every ounce of his body was putting his trust in him. There was no way for Naruto not to go with the flow.

Just how much had Obito trusted him?

"Mi-Minato-sensei?" He whispered in shock as if he suddenly remembered the name. At least that was what it looked like for outsiders, in reality Naruto was just too shocked that he was actually meeting his father –something he never imagined to be possible – face to face.

Of all the people in the shinobi world he could have met in this isolated piece of land… it had to be his father.

A few chuckles escaped him before he was quickly caught up in laughing and eventually found himself unable to stop. "Obito?" He chuckled to himself. "I'm Obito…" He managed to keep the questioning tone out of his voice this time.

For others,it might seem that he was actually remembering, but for Naruto it was more a statement for himself. He had failed Obito and he now actually had to take up his identity.

He had no choice to be Obito from now on.

Mentally he apologized to the figure still peacefully sleeping in the back of his mind.

Naruto closed his eye, still laughing, but had just been able to see his sensei's face turn into a troubled frown. He couldn't stop laughing and the grip of his sensei's hands on his shoulders was slowly becoming tenser.

"Obito-kun…calm down."

Naruto couldn't help himself anymore. Just the whole situation was just too… funny- in a horrible sick and twisted way. His emotions were peaking and the memories of Obito weren't helping either.

"Obito!"

He tried to hold back a chuckle but it only came out as a sob and before he knew what was happening, he had turned into a sobbing mess. As the hands around him gently released him, he let himself be pulled into a gentle hug. He felt the corner of his eye water ever so slightly and did his best to keep himself from crying.

"Shhh…it's alright Obito, You can cry. Let it go." The warm presence around him and the amount love that he could feel was directed to him was calming. It all felt so right that Naruto couldn't help himself and let a couple of tears escape.

He hadn't cried for a long time.

"I'm not crying… something is in my eyes." He mumbled into the man's jacket as another memory resurfaced.

Minato let out a happy chuckle, his heart nearly exploding with relief as he had his previously 'dead' student in his arms. His comrades respectably let them have their moment, silently applauding the fact that the young teenager had somehow - how the hell did he do it?- managed to survive the whole ordeal and get back home.

It was a miracle that, for a moment, made the whole grave situation of the war seem a little less darker than it was. Minato didn't know how the kid had managed it or what had happened, but at that moment Minato didn't care.

Because the child he held in his arms, was Obito alright.

"Sleep Obito. Get some rest." He muttered to the boy, knowing that they had to get back to the village and it would be easier for him to carry the stubborn child than to let him insist to walk on his own. It wasn't like he was able to answer any questions in his current state.

"Don nee sleep" The Uchiha mumbled tiredly.

Minato chuckled and patted the boy on his head. "I insist."

The teen grumbled in protest and, maybe realizing what he was planning, started to push away from him, but Minato was already ready to strike.

Subtly he had moved his hand just so, that it was posed right above the boy's neck. The boy didn't tense however, showing the trust he had in him. With a sad smile he pressed down on one of the pressure point, trying to make it as painless as possible.

"Mean…"was the only thing that the man could make out of the last grumbled words of the teenager before he was unconsciousness.

He caught the boy's weight with ease, frowning at how light the ninja was.

What had the boy been eating?

His student certainly had a couple of difficult months behind him. His eye scanned the injuries that the boy had, wondering how he could have survived the collapse of all those boulders. He would get the story eventually…

For now he had to take proper care of the injuries. "Let's go and set up camp. Then we will perform first aid on Obito before heading straight to Konoha. Does anyone have objections?"

There was a slight awkward silence that Minato frowned slightly, before he eventually nodded.

"And we will check his identity extensively. Though I can assure you that he has shown enough responses that only Obito should know."

Should. You never knew for sure when it concerned ninja.

Still, Minato tried to not let that possible situation get to him. He would find out how _his student_ had survived eventually. He just felt the connection to the boy and now he had once lost him, it was even stronger than before. His heart soared with joy at the thoughts of his team being reunited again. Rin and Kakashi would be so happy and relieved.

"Any further objections?" He asked.

Nobody had one, and with that decision, they continued on their way to Konoha. Only this time with an extra passenger that was sleeping peacefully and eventually drooling on the back of the Yellow Flash.

**~ Scene Break ~ **

Naruto was not surprised when he was flung back into his mind. It had not been the first time that he had been knocked out like that… or had it? Had it been Obito that had been knocked out like that many times previously?

It was starting to get more difficult to keep the memories apart. Naruto frowned in unease but shook it off instead. He had someone to talk too. He had felt the fox musing about something for too long.

Which meant that he was either planning something or that something was wrong.

He probably wouldn't be happy either way.

"What is wrong Kyuubi? Out with it…"

There was a low grumble at the disrespect, but the fox decided to let the comment pass for this once.

"**We have a problem kid…" **

"What is it?" Naruto questioned, more than used to the fact that he always had and always would have enough problems to solve.

"**We are going to die…" **

Well, that was a little more serious problem alright. Naruto turned around to face the fox that was watching him from the distance from behind the trees, which were functioning as the parts of the seal. He looked at the demon confusedly.

"Why?"

"**You will be born in a couple of months… your soul is coupled to the new body… It won't take up any other soul since it is yours. If your previous infant soul were to take place in the body, it will clash with your presence. After all, you are still you."**

"Someone else will be me?"

"**No, it doesn't work like that exactly."**

"Why not?"

"**You still think you are you… you are claiming the body – the place of the soul - this way. I won't bother explaining the workings behind that Gaki. There are several scenarios that could happen. One, your infant body dies soulless while we are pulled out of this body and we either die or roam around the world for who knows how long. That or we are stuck in this body. Scenario two, we get sucked into your body and this body will die." **

Naruto eyes went wide in shock. He could not let his future other Naruto-self die, but neither could he just leave Obito behind. He just couldn't.

"Scenario three?" He pleaded, hoping the fox had one.

Kyuubi, who had grown ever so slightly in the couple of months of rest, stared at him. For once he was not glaring, but instead the fox was studying the mortal in front of him. His eyes flickered over to the sleeping figure not far away and then back to Naruto.

"**I'm still unsure…" The fox growled. "Come back later… I need some more thinking to be done. Go do that sealing that you were just planning to do. I don't want any other hairless monkey-visitors in here. I'll help you out when you start." **

With that last comment, the fox walked away from the trees and disappeared into the shadows. Naruto watched him go with a rapid heartbeat.

'Shit…' He thought.

'Well if I have to choose, I prefer not to wander around aimlessly for eternity with Kyu." He mumbled softly to himself, shuddering at the thought.

A slight mental nudge let Naruto know that the fox thought exactly the same on the matter.

Smiling ever so slightly in amusement, even though his usual enthusiasm was gone, Naruto stared in the direction of the figure that had been lying there unmoving for a couple of months. There was a certain pull towards the figure that Naruto still couldn't explain. He had not voiced it yet, so he wasn't sure whether Kyuubi was aware of it, but he realized that he couldn't keep silent on the matter much longer.

"He has been lying there for too long…" He muttered.

He would tell Kyuubi when he was done thinking. It wasn't a very good idea to disturb the fox. Now he had some other business to take care off. He closed his eyes momentarily and flopped down on the ground.

Pushing the thoughts away for the moment he focused on his current problem.

The moment he had been restrained, he had realized that he would have to use _that technique _to make sure that they wouldn't be able to find out his real identity or memories or knowledge about the future. So that meant that he would have to fool them, to make them believe that he really had a problem with remembering everything.

Claiming amnesia was so simple and unoriginal that it wouldn't be accepted so easily. He most likely wouldn't be able to get through all those tests and would only end up with some real big questions directed at him.

So that meant that he would have to do something so utterly ridiculous that nobody would ever even think about the possibility of 'Obito' having done it himself.

He was going to seal his own mind away, along with many memories, in a way that only he could have access to them.

He had just the perfect seal in mind.

It had been anunfinished seal that Jiraiya and Naruto had been developing during their training as a defense for the Sharingan and its mind-techniques. They had never gotten to finish it, but after his sensei's death… and Sasuke's blind revenge, not mention Madara, Naruto had worked nearly a whole year with several Kage Bunshin to finish it.

He had been able to safely seal away his mind in the future so he knew that it worked. Now he only had to make some slight tweaks so that it would look like some kind of deliberate seal to make him forget what happened to him and 'conveniently' also how he got out of the boulders. Now he only had to think up some vague images to put into the surface of the seal so that anyone looking at it would get the impression that he had been saved… or something.

An anonymous savior that wanted to remain unknown? It sounded strange and suspicious enough that it might actually work…

He frowned before shrugging. He would work out the 'vague memory' part on the go.

Yet, Naruto couldn't help but feel slightly bad about hiding this big secret from his precious people, even if it was the right thing to do.

'I have to protect them. Even if it is from the truth…'

With this new determination, he bit on his thumb to draw blood, accepted the demon's chakra that it was sending to him and started focusing with all his might on the tiring process that he was facing. He might not be able to focus on many things at once but if he was focused on something, he wouldn't stop until he was done.

'Let do it!'

~ Couple of days later ~ 

A skill that most ninja were able – and forced - to teach themselves was to wake up so quietly that it was impossible for those around you to know whether you were awake or asleep. For this reason, Naruto forced himself to relax as soon as he got back to the world of the consciousness and started studying his surroundings.

The mattress he was lying on felt very familiar, as did the specific type of sheets that were keeping him warm. A moment later he realized that he had been changed out of clothes and nearly completely bandaged. This included his face, his torso and even all of his limbs.

He felt like a mummy.

Holding back his reaction, he scanned his surroundings for any obvious chakra-signatures. There was no one around him. He couldn't hear a heartbeat either. Deeming it safe to wake up, he opened his eye. It was a lot easier to do, as if it had been healed extensively, which was most likely the case.

Konoha valued the Uchiha's eyes after all.

He blinked slowly as he observed the one color that overwhelmed his vision.

White.

It is far too white in here.

For someone as experienced with hospitals as Naruto was, it hadn't taken the now-thirteen-year-old long to figure out that he was – indeed - waking up in a hospital. He glanced around ever so slightly and let out a sigh of relief as he recognized the lay-out of the room. It was one of the better rooms, since they had their own mini-bathroom.

Which included a toilet.

Thank Kami.

He really had to use one.

Gritting his teeth to keep himself from hissing out in pain, he slowly sat up. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and grabbed the infusion stand, which held up the liquid that was being injected in his body. Seeing as the needles in his skin were connected to the bag with transparent liquid – whatever it was – he could better take it with him. He tested the weight on his feet and took a couple of steps to orientate himself before heading towards the toilet.

He was glad that he didn't have to use the infusion stand for support.

A few minutes later he opened the door again, his face a little more relieved, though it would be difficult to see with all the bandages. He had been about to head back to his bed, but his attention was caught by a certain familiar sight in the windows.

There were only three faces…

As Naruto stared at the faces, he couldn't help but shiver. This was another piece of all the proof that he really was back in time. No fourth and fifth face to accompany the other three. No marks on the rocks where they had made room for the upcoming sixth face that was rumored– read, known and recognized by all of Konoha – to be for him. He had taken so much pride in that. He had worked so hard for it… until he had ruined everything.

Sasuke. Sakura. Sai. Hinata. Neji. Lee… all the others. Baa-chan. Ero-sennin. Iruka. _Kakashi-sensei…._

His expression and mood turned dark. He would get his revenge…

The sound of the doorknob being moved was the only thing that would keep Naruto from being startled. He decided to play it cool and wait for his visitor. After all, he could finally let his own confusion show – something he had cropped up within himself since the fox wasn't exactly someone you could go to with that kind of stuff.

Pulling his acting skills together, embracing Obito's identity just momentarily before letting go, he continued to stare in front of him.

The door had not moved yet, as if the person holding the handle was reluctant to enter.

This confused the ninja. 'Who would be afraid to come face in face with me?'

'Wait, no would be afraid to come face in face with Obito?' He corrected himself, and the answer came not much later.

Ah right.

Well, if he didn't want a confrontation yet, then Naruto could make it easier for him. With quick silent movements which was slightly more difficult with the infusion stand, he was back under the sheets of his bed before the door opened. There was a pause, as the visitor was most likely staring at his 'sleeping' form, followed by a soft gasp. Naruto took note of the tone of relief that it had contained, as well as disappointment.

He could hear the visitor nearly rush to his sleeping form, gently putting a hand on his as to confirm that he was actually there. Naruto frowned mentally, noting that the hand felt very tiny – sure his sensei should be a kid like him – but also strangely feminine.

There was a sound that let him known that the visitor moved a chair next to his bed. Naruto had to hold back a flinch as a hand was put down on his forehead, as if checking his temperature.

"Oh,Obito I'm so glad…" The voice choked up ever so slightly.

Wait a minute…that was not his sensei's voice either. That was not sensei after all?

He couldn't help but feel somewhat relieved and disappointed at the same time.

Knowing that he could not wake up out of nowhere, he made sure to frown slightly in acknowledgement as the visitor moved her hand again. The hand stilled in wonder, before moving it through his hair as if to find another reaction. Hmm… that felt pretty good actually.

Moving his head ever so slightly, Naruto started to 'wake up'.

"Obito?"

His eye opened ever so slowly as he prepared himself to see a stranger. 'You do not know her… Obito knew her. You don't.' He desperately tried to feel guilty as he took in her face. It was so incredibly relieved, so full of joy…

And he was going to ruin it with three simple words.

"Who are you?"

Yeah, he felt like an official jerk.

**~ End Chapter ~**

**Feedback time! :D **I dema- err ask for some of your time to give me attention! (even if you don't have suggestions) Haha.

How many of you thought it was Kakashi? I'm saving the best meeting for last! Hehe! Does anyone have any ideas on how the two should reunite? I need some extra inspiration. By the way… HELP! Does anyone know how /when the third shinobi war actually ended? I can't find it anywhere!

Anyway, I hope I haven't ruined anything so far… if I did please let me know as well. Learning from my mistakes and all that.. Till next time!

~Dreamyin


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary**: It is not for nothing that Naruto has gotten the reputation of being the most surprising ninja. As if to keep this reputation, the blond often lands himself in unusual situations that ask for the most unusual solutions. However, fighting Madara to the bitter end and caught up in a clash of jutsus, waking up in Obito's body and buried under piles of stones was not something even Naruto thought possible. How will Naruto take care of the upcoming threat of Akatsuki and Madara in a past he does not know while starting a new legend for Uchiha Obito?

**Beta**: Dear **Beloved Daughter!** Thank you!

**A/N** I nearly fell asleep writing this… twice, but I just have to finish this or I would go and postpone it and… yeah you probably recognise that problem. It took some effort but I'm going to try and stick to my every-7(to 14) days update as long as possible.

This is mostly thanks to the awesome reviews. I appreciate both the endearing complements, advices, encouragements (for writing and surviving college lol) and constructive criticism very much. Oh and nope, no beta this time either, but I was trying to be more careful, so I hope there are less typos in there than normal.

I got some criticism about the amnesia issues. So added an explanation for which I had to crack my brain on how to convert my idea about Naruto's amnesia plan with the seal. I hope it gives you a little more insight, if not please let me know and I will try to improve it somehow.

Now enjoy!

**Chapter 6: Suppressing Weight**

It was as if the weather in Konoha was welcoming the once-crushed ninja back in their midst.

For it was a rare beautiful day in the Hidden Village. The sky was clear, with the exception of a few fluffy white clouds. The sun was shining brightly and the warm temperature that it provided allowed everyone to walk around comfortably without needing any thick clothes.

Even the tense atmosphere, caused by the war, couldn't completely suppress the lively spirit of Konoha's citizens that day. They were nearly all a little happier and more cheerful that normal. Even the depressed and grieving people managed to crack a smile that day.

Small children were playing in the park, while their watchful mothers were exchanging the last juicy gossips. Those that were working were also affected by the weather, because of the cheerful people that they came in contact with. The Shinobi took advantage of the nice weather by going to train to improve their skills, instead of doing so later in more dreary circumstances.

The few genin, that were doing D-rank missions in the village, complained less than normal – well, except those that had to stay inside and couldn't enjoy the weather. In the meantime, bored civilian children played together, while a few other teenagers were relaxing in company of their friends while watching the clouds drift by in a rather lazy manner.

All in all, the people of Konoha were in a good mood.

Well… _nearly _everyone. There was an exception.

This exception came in the form of a certain scarred, black-haired, on-eyed, shinobi in the hospital that wasn't very happy.

No, quite the opposite: Naruto, currently otherwise known as Uchiha Obito, was brooding.

He was currently staring out of the window, absently studying all the tiny details of the famous faces made out of stone, staying completely silent for a long time. His visible eyebrow was furrowed, the other being hidden by the bandages that hid the upper left part of his face. His lips were thinned and slightly scowled.

Unknown to him, his expression was pulling off the brooding nature perfectly, as he now had the whole 'Uchiha'-demeanor to support it. Especially his narrowed eye showed his bad mood as he stood with his arms crossed in front of the window, as the usual spark that lightened his eye was absent.

A wheelchair stood forgotten behind him. For some reason they wouldn't let him stand for long periods of time, saying one of his legs needed more rest.

It didn't matter that he had been walking around for the last couple of months. No, for them, it only made it worse. Something about 'pushing his body too far and now paying for it.'

Tch, he had managed just fine without it. They were probably just looking for a reason to keep him in the room. After all, he still needed to be revaluated, especially mentally.

'Oh boy', he thought. He hoped that he would be able to bluff himself out of that one.

'Will the seal be good enough?' Naruto pondered as he continued staring at the Hokage monument, ignoring the fact that the nurses would kill him if they found him standing instead of sitting in the wheelchair like they had ordered him to do.

He once again ran the effects and processes of the seal through his mind and nodded to himself. "If that won't work, I don't know what will." He mumbled.

After all, back in the future, Jiraiya and Naruto had put a lot of time into it. Ero-sennin had been in charge of the stability of the base of the seal, so Naruto trusted it completely. The part that he had modified might – not that he was expecting it– to give him some trouble, but the foundation of the seal should be stable enough to prevent any accidents.

"I'm sure you would lecture me about modifying seals again if you were here though." Naruto mumbled under his breath, knowing that there was no one to hear him, and that if they could that they wouldn't be able to make out his words.

The seal was quite a masterpiece if he had to say so.

The seal as a whole had actually two functions. First, the most important and strongest part of the seal made sure that Naruto's future memories and –_ also very important - _Kyuubi's presence were hidden from any visitors that came along in his mind. The downside of sealing his memories away was that it made them somewhat vague and blurrier at times. If push came to shove, he might even lose a few small memories all together. Still, it was a risk he was willing to take.

The second part of the seal, which overlapped and therefore hid the first from sight in his mind, was not as strong. Though it was hiding and blocking most of Obito's memories, it was, by far, not sealed as tightly at his own. Meaning that there would be certain triggers around him that would resurface the memories. Once triggered, the memory would only rarely reseal itself, but it would happen.

All in all, this should fit the behavior pattern of people with amnesia. Naruto had been very glad that he had once debated this with Sakura. It was very useful to have had a medic-ninja as your best friend.

Of course there were downsides for the second seal as well. One, he could be overwhelmed once a memory was triggered, much like what happened when his fa- Minato-sensei had said. "You are late!" Another downside was that Obito's memories might become clearer than his own future memories. He would just have to keep remembering himself that he was not Obito and that the real Obito would wake up eventually.

On the bright side, the sealing didn't really affect the strange presence of Obito in his - well actually Obito's - mind, though he did feel strangely distant from the boy ever since he had placed the seal. Yet it wouldn't cause too much trouble. Besides, he could just unseal the whole thing if it was necessary. Even though it would give him the a headache similar to the one he would have if he were to fall head-first to the ground after jumping from the Hokage monument.

Another plus, was that seal should help him to act more naturally when being questioned. Since it would be more difficult to remember things, it would make his acting more sincere.

'Well sensei…at least I can put this seal to better use than we had ever thought it would have.' Ever so slowly, a smirk graced his lips, which his Uchiha genes made look slightly devious without even trying.

He might make a convincible 'amnesia' case after all. And if that didn't work, the seal would give him another excuse all together. "Help, someone messed with my mind so I can't really tell you anything about what happened!" He could already see himself acting it out in front of the medics. It did sound stupid, but it would probably work.

But it was better to go with the amnesia route for now. After all, he shouldn't be aware of any seal.

Now he only had to make sure that he would act like someone who had lost his memories would act. Which meant that he would have to be confused by nearly everything and everyone that he knows and sees. At least until a memory of Obito was triggered from the seal.

Troublesome.

Now that he had made his decision, his brooding demeanor returned, having been trying not to think about IT. All these inner conflicts about the seal were not the main reason for the fact that he was currently in such a bad mood, which made him brood in Uchiha style.

No, it had been the meeting with that girl that had.

He hated acting like a jerk.

_~ A few hours ago ~_

The one eye that the Uchiha possessed blinked slowly at the girl and slowly repeated the question that caused the girl to falter. Ever so slowly he nudged the hand away from his face. No matter how good that little affection felt, he would not let a stranger touch him.

"Who are you?"

Naruto was fully well-aware of who she was, having gone through a few of Obito's memories. This was why he could note the differences between the image of the girl in his mind and the one before him. She looked awful. Not the ugly kind of awful, but the thoroughly stressed and depressed kind of awful. The lines under her eyes were clearly visible and her hair didn't look as taken care of any more.

The hope that had been shining in her eyes though and the kindness that accompanied it was more familiar though. Even the slight hope that was in her eyes was a familiar feature.

Unfortunately, he had to ruin it.

Two brown eyes widened in surprise and disbelief as he looked at her. She had stood up from her chair the moment he had made the first sign of waking up. Then as soon as he had opened his eye and looked at her, she had been moving towards him. Her arms reached out to hug him, like Sakura would when she had been worried about him, just before he had spoken up. Her happiness crumbling away from her face when he backed away slightly like most ninja would, uncomfortable with a hug from a 'stranger'.

It took all of Naruto's experience in acting to keep the blank and slightly frustrated look on his face.

Simply by looking at her he could feel several memories struggle to come to surface but it was not enough to be actually triggered. He made even extra effort by studying her brown hair, her hair cut, the purple rectangles that were present on her face and the kind energy that she was radiating towards him. The caring energy she was directing towards him felt great, but it was not the amount that Obito was familiar with.

'Come on memory, trigger. Remember! Don't tell me I sealed the memories too tight!'

He secretly hoped that a memory would trigger right at this moment so he would be able to just talk with the girl, but unfortunately this was not the case.

Fear actually flickered in her eyes and she took a somewhat frantic step towards him, reaching out to touch his arm again, but his reflex kicked in and he withdrew his arm ever so slightly. "O-Obito?" She nearly begged him as she managed to grasp his arm this time. He let her do so reluctantly but the fact that he tensed momentarily as soon as she touched him told her enough.

"You really don't remember me?" She nearly gasped. There was a long tense pause before she reluctantly created more distance between them to make him more comfortable, unable to ignore his obvious discomfort any longer.

Naruto made sure to frown at her and study her in a more obvious manner. She watched him study her carefully and returned the favor. Her eyes lingered at the bandages that hid his eye and the other part of his face that was also wrapped in the process, which effectively the other scars on his face.

She waited for any reaction, but after a while he still didn't react.

"It's me, Rin." She continued, looking hopeful as she came a little closer.

'Shit, it isn't working.' Naruto thought, starting to form a headache from all the effort he was putting into remembering. 'I will have to take a look at that stupid seal.' He thought, starting to fear that he had put too much chakra in it during activation.

'Though activating the first seal with that much chakra was necessary. There is no way I could have done it any differently…'

"You…. I should know you shouldn't I?" He mumbled, rubbing his head in confusion and trying to calm the throbbing in his head.

To her, it was the conformation that he didn't recognize her.

Rin's expression fell apart soon after and he could see tears starting to well up in her eyes. Rin, though a kind and slightly emotional kunoichi, was usually not one to cry so quickly, but the stress, the sudden relief at his survival and then the big disappointment made it pretty normal for her to react that way.

'Ah,no. Please don't let her cry!'

He quickly started to wave his hands in an awkward manner, having easily taken up Obito's antics.

"Hey wait! Please don't be upset. I didn't mean to…" He tried to calm her down, but his actions only made her break down even more. Naruto froze, suddenly unsure of what to do. Then he noticed a certain urge appearing inside of him that could count as the first sign that he knew her.

He wanted to hug her.

'Finally!'

He reacted instinctively. Pushing aside the body's reluctance to touch the 'stranger' – since he hadn't really unlocked a real memory of knowing her yet - he focused on the tiny need he felt to hug her before it disappeared. She was slightly startled as he gently and awkwardly pulled her towards him as he sat up on the bed.

"I- I'm sorry?" He didn't know what else to say.

She started sobbing silently, her shoulders shaking. At the same time she never let the tears leave her mind.

"How… how do I know you?" He dared to ask.

He was caught off guard when she suddenly drew away from him, startling him slightly. "So-sorry, I shouldn't actually be here. I really shouldn't. I was actually ordered that…" She didn't finish her sentence as she turned around. She quickly walked away a few steps, before stopping.

"I mean. Maybe you really aren't… but then I saw you and I just knew that …"She kept cutting off her own sentences, making Naruto wonder if he wasn't allowed to know what was going on.

Did they see him as a danger? As a threat? What if they really saw him as an imposter?

Unseen to Rin, his eye widened in panic and he felt his heard speed up at the thought. Just before he could freak out, she spoke again, forcing him back to reality.

Her voice softened. "It is just that…Minato-sensei warned me already, but I didn't really listen and I had hoped that…" She started mumbling quickly and walked away again, creating more distance between Naruto and her. The information that she shared gave Naruto the opportunity to react in an attempt to stop her from going.

"Minato-sensei?" He frowned for a while before a clear image of the man resurfaced in his mind and he nodded. "Yeah I know hi- wait you know him too! You call him sensei, does that mean that-"

He blinked when his ears picked up the sound of the door being opened and quickly closed. "Hey please wait!" He called out but he was too late. It hadn't worked. She was already gone. He suddenly realized that he was very much alone once again.

Naruto stared at the door and sighed heavily, suddenly feeling very lonely. After months of being alone, he had yet to feel actually that lonely. Strange as it had been, he had become kind of used to being lonely in the last few years of his usual life. Especially when all his loved ones had…

Now he was once again experiencing what it was like to be surrounded by dear ones, it made him realize how much he had missed it. The presence of the girl might not trigger any memories yet, but he did feel the warm feeling that Sakura had always brought up in him, very similar to the presence of other close friends.

Plucking at the sheets in his hands, he felt his mood quickly go down the hill. 'Maybe I should just have 'recognized' her anyway.' He grumbled mentally at himself, but knew he couldn't just change his approach.

He never had been good with emotional girls, but this must be one of the worst situations to be such a jackass.

Shaking his head, he got out of the bed once more. Maybe some Hokage-Monument-watching would do him some good. He frowned when he felt a tingling sensation appear in his bad leg after about ten minutes of standing still. That hadn't happened before. It felt like that itchy-healing feeling that he had experienced once before.

"What have they done to it?" He muttered. Kyuubi's chakra should have kept it…

A sudden memory from his own life resurfaced in form of Sakura lecturing him_. _

_"Kyuubi's chakra is very useful to manipulate to heal you and others. Still there are many medics that don't have enough control or knowledge on how to use it. Most will even not notice the presence of the chakra because it is often so small and they are focused on using their own chakra to direct your own chakra."_ Sakura told him, having hit him lightly on the back of his head after he made an indirect comment about a medic-ninjathat had messed up with Kyuubi's healing process once, which was why he had recognized it.

His arm had been acting strange for a whole month.

It happened rarely that the healing of the demon and the medic-ninja clashed, but it seemed that luck wasn't on his side. At least in the future, most medic ninja had known what to do if it did happen. He let his hand run down his leg, trying to find the spot that had previously held the tiny amount of the fox's chakra. It was really gone.

Damn, so now he would have to heal it the normal way. That could take at least a week if the skill level of the medic ninjawere of any indication.

The sound of the door opening made him straighten in surprise. He turned around and came face in face with a very motherly-looking medic ninja, who smiled at him when she spotted him. At least, until she realized what was going on.

"Ah good to see that you are awa- Wait a minute! What the hell are you doing? You shouldn't stand on your leg brat! Let alone get out of bed! Get back in! I need to check up on you and then I…"

Naruto quickly rushed to follow the medic's orders. Another result of having had a medic ninja as your best friend was that he immediately knew when he shouldn't push his luck.

He had enough experience to know that medics could be very scary when they needed to be.

~ Present ~

They had been pushing him to sit in the wheelchair immediately after the small check-up and interrogation, which had been kind of straightforward to answer - "No I don't remember." "I don't know." "Obito?" "Err… could you repeat that question please?" and the like. At least he had passed the basic tests. His head may be healed, but the clear signs of 'possible' head trauma were still there.

Unfortunately for them, he wasn't really one to listen to their orders when it didn't come from a certain pink-haired one with a temper and dangerous fists that she wasn't afraid to use. After all, she could easily heal him afterwards and was fully  
aware of that.

His frown increased as he once again went over the first meeting with Rin. Having watched as the hopeful face of this 'Rin' had dropped and had eventually nearly started to tear up had made him feel bad. He had not meant for her to nearly cry. The fact that Obito had a crush on her much like what he had felt for Sakura once only made it worse.

He sighed. That was another similarity between the Obito and him. It felt so strange…how natural Obito's memories felt. Sometimes it felt as if it actually had been his life.

'But that would be silly right?' Naruto thought, shoving the thought away and got his mind back on track.

He continued brooding.

'Is this why the Uchiha always act so grumpy? They are grumpy because they can't help but act like a jerk?'

Welcoming the different topic, he thought back to the Obito's memories of the Uchiha clan and compared it with his own life. He had been an orphan. The idiot that everyone laughed at when he spoke of his dream. Obito had a family but they hadn't been proud of him at all, which Naruto had concluded from the few memories he had trespassed. There was always this lingering loneliness and shame in those memories. The feeling of being a failure…

Naruto's eyes narrowed. He hoped he wouldn't have to deal with his clan anytime soon. He wondered if they had been alerted. Having been a selected candidate for the Hokage - even though a large part of the training had not been started before…. that accident - did give him some knowledge about these kinds of 'special cases'.

If a shinobi was labeled as being in an 'unknown state', the family would rarely be informed. In combination with the fact that it would give the Hokage a lot of issues with the Sharingan eye, he suspected that he was procrastinating dealing the matter for now. The Uchiha clan was prone to become a source of a headache after all.

Naruto should know. Not to ignore the fact that he had had only one Uchiha to deal with. A very annoying, stubborn and dangerous one, that is. He didn't want to know how to deal with a whole bunch of them. He shuddered. Nope, the Hokage was probably keeping it silent for now.

At the moment, Naruto didn't mind at all.

Still there had been a few memories with the Uchiha clan that had made him curious as well. There had been this feeling of being proud of someone. The feeling of being loved. The idea that family was important, which was why the disappointment in himself was so heavy. He had failed someone he held dear to him in some way.

He absently heard the door creaking open, but Naruto ignored it. He was too busy pondering about the strange conflict of emotions.

"Obito? Ah it is good to see you awake and well. The medics had been told to alert me as soon as possible. We need to ask some more questions." The voice was familiar and Naruto turned around to see Minato enter the room, Rin close behind. He twitched uncomfortably at her sight and tried to extensively focus on Minato instead.

Being the observant ninja that he was, the blond immediately noticed the tension between the two. It didn't take him long to put two and two together.

"I see that you have met."

The pair winched slightly and Naruto suddenly felt himself becoming nervous. There was something about that tone that just made him twitchy.

"Rin." He simply said and the girl suddenly looked even guiltier. "You know that you weren't supposed to visit him right?"

"Hai, sensei."

Though it was kind of interesting to watch the interaction between his father and his student, Naruto made sure to keep up the act. "So he_ is_your sensei!" He exclaimed in a rather relieved manner.

Blue eyes flickered to him for a moment before returning to Rin. The man ran a hand through his hair and sighed in a rather tired manner. "Rin, I know that you wanted to see him…" He trailed off, looking at her sternly for ignoring his unofficial order.

"I just had to make sure that he was really alright. That he was really…"_There. _The last word went unspoken.

"You know that I had warned you about several possible situations that could have happened, right?"

"But sensei he is rea-"

"Right?" The tone was slightly sharper and Rin's shoulders sagged in defeat.

"Hai Sensei" She said, softer this time.

Naruto suddenly felt a lot less comfortable. They were acting like he wasn't even there.

"Hey, hey! What is going on?" He asked, the absence of easily accessible memories was slightly getting to him. It gave him a frustrating feeling that he would have to bear until another memory was triggered.

"Calm down Obito." Naruto made a slight face at actually being called Obito by his father, which the man easily caught. He didn't comment on it, but he did give him a look that made Naruto avoid eye contact.

"Obito. I assume that you don't remember Rin?" He asked.

Naruto's eyes flickered to the girl in question and he scratched the back on his neck in an awkward manner. "No, but…" He paused.

'Should I actually say it?' He wondered, but the decision was made quickly when Minato had seen his expression.

"But what Obito?"

He still hesitated.

"But _what,_Obito?" Not that tone again.

"She does feel familiar…" He mumbled, feeling slightly like a stubborn child.

"Please repeat that, Obito." Minato said and Naruto noticed that he was constantly using Obito's name in his sentence. He still allowed a slight frown on his face to appear as another memory of Minato calling him that before resurfaced momentarily but then went back in hiding.

"She does_feel_ familiar." He stated, louder this time.

The girl seemed sad that he still didn't recognize him but she did seem glad that she was at least somewhat familiar. He wondered whether she had thought that the hug had been simply given because he had pitied her. The relieved look that Naruto received from the girl lifted his mood ever so slightly.

"Well, we will try to help you remember later on. But now we will have to go to the Hokage." Minato stated as he walked towards him.

Feeling slightly defensive all of sudden, Naruto took a step back. 'Old Man? Now? Already?'

"Why?"

Minato frowned and paused in his step. "Obito. Do you know who the Hokage is?"

The boy in front of him once again adopted that deep thoughtful face that he hadn't often seen on Obito's face before, except for that time before the accident when they had discussed Kakashi's past.

"Yeah. I_think_ so…" He muttered. To Minato, that was a pretty clear sign that he did have trouble remembering.

Minato's worry suddenly got a lot deeper. He had hoped that the damage wouldn't have been too bad, but if this was any indication, it was pretty bad. Still, the fact that he was standing in front of them, alive, was already a miracle on its own. How the hell had the boy managed to heal like that?

"You will remember soon enough. Now, seeing as you already changed clothes…"Naruto sheepishly smiled at him as he looked down at his dark blue t-shirt and pair of black shorts. "We can go right now. Take my hand and I will bring us there. I heard that you are supposed to let your right leg rest for a while." The blond stated as he glanced at the wheelchair next to the boy.

The very sheepish smile widened even more.

These sheepish smiles that Minato got in response relieved him slightly. He wasn't the only one as the girl next to him, couldn't help but smile – and get slightly teary-eyed – at the sight. Holding out his hand to the boy, he waited patiently.

Obito hesitated only for a second before he took it. He glanced to Rin, who smiled at him. Naruto couldn't help but give a small smile in return, suddenly feeling slightly awkward.

"Rin, let's have dinner with Kakashi after your shift. That is, if he got back from his mission yet. My treat." Sensei stated and Naruto was suddenly aware of the eyes that were boring in on his face.

There was a slight unrest of memories shifting his mind at the moment, but other than frowning momentarily, nothing was triggered.

Minato's face suddenly seemed a lot grimmer.

"Hai!" The girl replied happily and then left the room. Just before she turned, Naruto could see the worried look that slipped on her face, or rather, he saw the happy attitude slipping from her face.

Was his lack of memory that distressing? Was he doing this the wrong way?

"Hold on." The man said, as he drew in closer, nearly hugging Naruto, which made his heart beat just a little faster. The situation – his father standing in front of him – was still so unreal.

It was the last warning that he got before he was swept away to the Hokage Tower.

Hopefully the interrogation wouldn't resort to the use of any Yamanaka's. Though for some reason, Naruto didn't really feel confident in his luck anymore.

**~End Chapter ~**

Need… sleep… need… no I should.. read some more college books. Urgh. Need to stop the self-pity. Lol.

On the bright side! Thank you all so much for the information about the war! The conclusion was that I still have about… half a year or a year? Before Kyuubi attacks. I also heard that the war should have actually have ended by now and that Yondaime – who played a major part in it - will probably take up the mantel of Hokage soon… so that will probably happen, but not before a little interrogation takes place and maybe a certain reunion if I have enough time?

I know there isn't much action in the chapter but I would really appreciate some feedback!

Also, about the reunion, I already heard some great ideas! Many agree that Kakashi doesn't really seem like the type to take the "Hi nice to see you again Obito! How are you? Sorry about the whole getting crushed by the way! Oh and thanks for the eye! It saved me on several occasions already!"-approach ne? Now we should hope that Naruto will survive the interrogation to get that far!

Hope to hear from you guys! And hopefully – if I manage - until next week's update!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary**: Naruto does not have gotten the reputation of being the most surprising ninja for nothing. To keep up this reputation, the blond often lands himself in unusual situations that ask for the most unusual solutions. However, caught in a clash of jutsu while fighting Madara to the bitter end, and waking up in Obito's body buried under piles of stones was not something even Naruto thought possible. How will Naruto take care of the upcoming threat of Akatsuki and Madara in a past he does not know, while starting a new legend for Uchiha Obito? How will he use this second chance?

**Beta**: IN DESPERATE NEED OF A **BETA!** So…no this one is not beta-d yet.

**Note for the possible-future? Beta: **Please see the note above. I'm trying to find a _native_ speaker (or someone with the same level) that is especially good in helping me correct my "horrible/terrible/awful" grammar and other mistakes! If no one is interested, I will go search for one on my own, but that might take a while. Plus I would prefer to work with someone who has some interest in my story. It would be even better if you have interest in my other Avatar story "Into the Fire" (not Fightin' chances'), but that is not necessary.

**A/N:** Anyway thank you very much for the reviews and the favs! It warms my heart to know that you still enjoy it so far! I'm kind of sad that I haven't heard anything from many of you last chapter – and very happy with the people who review more often – but I know that the last chapter was kind of 'fillery' as many pointed out. Then again, Rin also deserved some attention too. As a present for those faithful reviewers (and a bribe to review for those who didn't previously) I made the chapter even longer! Moreover, this chapter has far more dialogue!

Now onto the interrogation! It was quite a pain to write – had to rewrite some parts a couple of times - but I hope you like it as much as I do.

Let me know later on alright? Now enjoy!

**Chapter 7: Mental Weight**

~ Later in the Hokage Tower ~

'Keep calm. Don't cry. Calm down.'

Naruto couldn't help but stare blankly at the man in front of him.

In front of him sat the Sandaime Hokage, with his pipe, piles of paperwork, hat and all. A picture that Naruto had seen many times before.

The man looked so much younger, but that was to be expected. Still, it was odd to see the image of the old friendly man in the future being overlapped by the more war-hardened and less-wrinkled man in front of him. Naruto knew that this meeting had been coming, but to actually see 'Jiji' right in front of him made it still difficult to act normal.

'Don't cry.' He reminded himself once again.

At the moment, grief was overwhelming his mind, a feeling much like the one he had felt when the Old Man had died. Though he was currently grieving the fact that the relationship that had existed between him and the Old Man would never be the same again, instead of the man's death.

That didn't mean that he only felt sad of course.

'Jiji!' His mind had screamed at him with such enthusiasm and happiness that made him nearly tackle the man from his chair when he finally realised that it was really the man he had looked up to when he was younger.

Naruto was not foolish enough to let his inner thought be known.

As it was, he was sitting silently on the other side of the desk, twitching under the stare of the old man that was boring into him. Though the old man had kept it well hidden, Naruto knew the man , so it wasn't difficult for him to catch the sadness and grief that the man felt as he studied his scars and the bandage that covered his left eye.

'Don't worry Jiji. I'm alright.' He thought, wanting to say so out loud, but remained silent.

The man had signs of being overworked, like any Kage in the time of war would look like. Yet, the man looked like he had had a good night rest and lacked the stressed and heavy energy that Naruto had expected to be present.

'Is the war over?' He wondered, trying to make the right calculations in his head.

He really should have paid more attention in class.

Taking his pipe from his mouth, the Sandaime finally spoke up again.

"So you don't remember anything?"

The boy in front of the slightly-less-but-still-old Hokage twitched ever so slightly. He knew fully well that the man in front of him was sceptical. It was a miracle on its own that he was even there, considering that his name had been engraved into a certain stone.

No surprise that the man was sceptical about his amnesia. As Hokage, Naruto knew, one was practically forced to be sceptical of everything.

Luckily for Naruto, the moment that he had stepped into the office and had spotted the man in front of him, Obito's memory had resurfaced with the help of his own future ones, making him stagger ever so slightly in the process. His face had automatically twisted into a thoughtful and then enlightened as soon as his mind had sorted the memory. It seems that Obito had been quite the troublemaker at the Academy as well and received a few 'inspiring' lectures form the man himself.

It had been a memory that Naruto hadn't known yet.

This was fine, as his reaction had been good enough. It was a reaction that was difficult to fake.

"Very well." The old man nodded, but Naruto caught the eyes glancing to the blond man behind him ever so briefly. The one eyed boy was glad that he had many years of life experience with him, as it were those subtle glances that a normal thirteen-year-old normally wouldn't be able to catch.

The Hokage was going to 'believe' him for now. Not that it was going to keep them from observing him though. They were planning something. Naruto could tell.

He mentally sighed in frustration. This was so screwing up his plan. He would need a new one.

Damn it.

"Your medical report states you have suffered from severe head trauma, so amnesia isn't that unusual. There also have been several basic tests that support this diagnose, but you will have to run several specialised tests to clear you." The Sandaime explained to the boy, unaware of the boy's insight on the situation.

Naruto started to get a sense of foreboding as he heard those words. 'Specialised test? Oh no, please don't let him –'

"Actually we would prefer to let a Yamanaka look at you right now, as your case is pretty special." The old man continued.

'- use a Yamanaka to check on me.' Naruto let out a mental sigh.

On the outside, Naruto frowned at him, as if sceptical. "Special? How so?"

Both men actually paused.

"You don't remember that you-" Minato started, but he was cut off by the Sandaime.

"What is the first thing that you remember?"

"I already told tha-"

"No what is the _very first_ thing you remember?" The man was asking it again. He was completely focused on him and Naruto realised that he would have to make sure to twist the truth in a way to make sure that he wasn't lying. The man would surely catch it otherwise.

He wasn't called 'The Professor' for nothing.

He frowned in thought. What was the _first_ thing he remembered?

'The first thing? Well…' He pondered for a moment. 'Wait!' Inspiration hit him and he had to keep himself from stomping his fist into the palm of his hand.

Chronologically speaking that would be the first thing he would remember in this time frame as the future hadn't occurred yet. Well in that case…

His visible eye became slightly haunted when he forced himself to remember that horrible moment. The pain, the pressure, the need to survive. It had been awful.

"Obito?"

Naruto suddenly realised that he might have been too preoccupied with reliving it and shook his head.

"Pain…" He replied hoarsely. "Pain…"

There was a slight pause before he was asked to continue. "I had to get away. I tried but I couldn't. It was so heavy. But I had to. I didn't want to…" He paused. "I tried everything but it didn't work! But then…" Naruto paused, forcing himself to think back to the moment and how desperate he had felt at that time. "Then I felt like floating… I got away and then…" He frowned.

"Somehow I realised that ended up near some boulders." He was not really lying. He had 'somehow' ended up in the past after all.

"How did you heal like that? How did you get out?" The Sandaime continued and waved in a blond-haired man that Naruto recognised as a Yamanaka when he was allowed to enter the office.

Mentally, Naruto smiled brightly. That part of the memories had been sorted into the strongest seal, meaning that he could use his special defence mechanism that he had designed for these kinds of situations. Mentally activating his defence structure, he let himself answer the question. Suddenly his mind went blank, and though the experience was scary as hell, it was gone as soon as he stopped trying to remember clearly.

"I- I don't know." His eyes spoke the truth as he kept eye contact with the Sandaime.

Hook. Line. Sinker.

The old man in front of him sighed heavily as he looked down on the ground and he felt a comforting hand appear on his shoulder. He felt bad doing all of this, but it had to happen.

"I understand. Would you mind if we were to try and take a look into your mind? It will help us come up with a method to make you remember." The Hokage asked the young ninja in front of him, who glanced at the blond man that he gestured to.

Jiji had made it sound like a request, but Naruto was not fooled. The Yamanaka was already there. So there wasn't really a choice in the matter, it seemed. He forced himself to calm down. He would just have to play along.

"Yamanaka Inoichi." The blond man stated with a small bow as neared.

'Inoichi-san? Oh no…' Naruto realised that he did look like a younger version on Ino's dad.

Naruto cursed his luck once again. The man was well known for his observance and skills when it concerned the mind. He hoped that he would be able to make his mind as unremarkable as it could be.

"Uchiha Obito." Naruto finally muttered. It still felt strange stating it.

Seeing how nervous the young teenager was, Inoichi tried to calm him down.

"You don't have to worry Obito-kun. I already spoke with Hokage-sama about your condition and I will not go anywhere into your mind unless it is absolutely necessary. This is only if it is some kind of technique in your mind that is considered lethal." The man stated and then explained, knowing fully well how vulnerable the human mind was and how dangerous it could be went the 'subject' was fighting the technique. They didn't want the boy to become even more damaged than he probably was.

"Lethal?" Naruto cried out, grapping his head as if he didn't know _exactly_ what was going on in his mind. "What do you mean lethal? Do you think I have some kind of bomb in my head?"

There was this ever so slight pause, which one normally wouldn't catch if he didn't have some foreknowledge about the people, but it was enough for Naruto. His eyebrow twitched. 'Come on… really?' He sagged in defeat. 'Ah well, I guess I would prefer to have someone checked out too.'

"Of course not." Minato-sensei had stated in the meantime and received a panicked glance from his student in reply.

"We just want to make sure you are alright." He stated and the genuine tone that Naruto heard behind it made him forgive the man for being so paranoid. A warm sensation spread out over him as he realised just how worried they were. They wouldn't take all these precautions if it weren't the case.

"You will stop when I tell you too?" Naruto asked, turning to the other blond, not even hiding the sceptic tone in his voice.

"Yes."

While he reluctantly nodded, mentally Naruto was cursing. He had been hoping that this wouldn't happen. That they would simply stick to the analysis of amnesia, but it seems that in in or after – Naruto still wasn't sure yet - times of war, one couldn't be too careful. So Naruto nodded silently, not even trying to hide the anxious feeling that was building up in him.

'Please let the seal be good enough.' He prayed as they turned his chair around so that Naruto face the Yamanaka directly. He caught the heavy stare of the man as he studied the skin around the one eye that he had. It might be war, but to see something on a thirteen-year-old, while missing one eye, was still difficult.

Naruto twitched uncomfortably and Inoichi averted his gaze. "I apologise."

"It's alright." Naruto mumbled, trying not to feel bothered by it and suddenly feeling very subdued and nervous. Two hands settled on his shoulder. He looked up to see his sensei smiling encouragingly at him. It calmed him somewhat but the feeling was still there.

"Are you ready?" Minato inquired.

Pulling together all of his brashness and stubbornness, the one-eyed ninja nodded.

Inoichi calmly reached out and placed a hand on his head and nodded to the blond man that stood behind the boy. He would make sure that his grip would stay where it was when they were mentally absent. He leaned back against the back of the chair, so that he wouldn't lose his posture as quickly. Not quite satisfied yet, he also pulled the chair a little closer to the boy to prevent him from slumping down.

Replacing his hand on the head he gave the boy a slight smile. Naruto stared at him with wary eyes, but didn't protest. He knew that the man was an honourable ninja all the way, having worked with him many times. He had seen him do this a couple of times with other people, but to be at the receiving end was a whole different experience.

"Keep looking in my right eye." The Yamanaka ordered, as looking in both his eyes would be very difficult. Naruto did what he was told and suddenly felt the familiar sensation run over him as he was swept into his mind and both their bodies slumped down ever so slightly. Minato's grip on the boy's shoulders tightened and he gripped the arm of the Yamanaka to keep it from slipping off.

He made eye contact with the Hokage who was keeping an eye on Inoichi.

~Mindscape~

Inoichi was considered to be a genius in the family. He was a natural in all things that concerned his blood-limit. This was actually one of the reasons why he was trusted with these very fragile tasks. It wouldn't come to a surprise that he entered many different minds. Not only enemy ninja, but leaf ninja as well. There had even been a civilian once or twice.

Yet, he had never been in a mind like this before.

The feeling that was present felt odd. It was not that it wasn't right, but it was _different_. Like you receive the type of book that you ordered but that the cover is suddenly different than you expected. Glancing around, he studied the clearing he was in.

For someone to have such a lively mental room was pretty astonishing. Most people had the place that they felt the safest, like their bedroom, their complete house or that of their parents. A certain clearing th-

'The trees do seem familiar.' Inoichi suddenly realised. This must be a clearing situated someone in or near Konoha, or it was modelled after one. He recognised the trees. Nearing one, he could feel the energy running through it. Each tree seemed to have several memories stored in them.

The ninja was starting to get a general idea of how the mind was built up. He glanced at the darker part of the woods, but was not surprised by its presence. He had actually been expecting it. All ninja's had their own dark memories, so that didn't surprise the man that much.

Yet, there was something off about it anyway. It was as if there should be more. There was something dark in there. But what?

'I can't put my finger on it.' The blond thought and started to inch closer to it, but was stopped by the voice behind him.

"I don't want to go there."

He turned around and noticed that the Obito was standing there, scarred and one-eyed as he was. This worried the Yamanaka. Normally one would change themselves ever so slightly. Most often, people would take the appearance of an age in which they felt the best. Even though that didn't mean that people always changed their age, scars and other injuries would often return to their healthy state either way.

However, Obito was exactly the same. It was as if he had no other appearance to take on as-

"You don't remember anything right now either?" He asked the young teenager in front of him.

Said boy looked at him blankly and shrugged before answering. "I know where some of the memories should be but it's difficult to get to them." He answered and Inoichi nodded, a frown appearing on his face.

Obito remained silent and Inoichi decided to get to business. They had decided to at least make sure that there were no bad intentions coming from the boy in front of him. Lying in the mind was nearly impossible. Maybe manipulating one's words might work if one was a master at it, but the boy in front of him certainly shouldn't be.

"Uchiha Obito, please swear that you have absolutely no bad intention towards Konoha or its Kage and that you do now participate in any plan that may directly or indirectly harm towards Konoha and its Kage."

"I swear do not have any bad intentions towards Konoha and Hokage-sama. Nor do I wish to bring harm to Konoha." The boy said.

Inoichi couldn't find any lie in the boy's words, nor did the mind provide any different feeling. He nodded in acceptance at the boy. He had passed this test. Both of them relaxed somewhat, knowing that the most important part was taken care off.

"Can we look around?" The mind-specialist asked the boy, who was staring at the full moon that was illuminating the clearing they stood in.

"Sure." The boy muttered. "But not there… it feels wrong." Secretly the ninja was well aware that the 'wrong' feeling came from a certain nine-tailed fox that remained hidden in the shadows.

"They are bad memories. They need to be accepted as well." Inoichi told him, but didn't object as there little adventure depended on the boy's cooperation. The boy looked at him and shrugged his shoulders.

"Alright be that way, but just remember that they are part of you as well." The blond gently lectured him. He received another shrug in response.

They moved around several trees and Inoichi looked for any more signals to tell him what was going on. Besides the strange atmosphere, the mind seemed healthy enough on its own. There were no big blockades or empty placed that could indicate amnesia either.

Eventually the Yamanaka realised that there wasn't much he could do before finding out what was keeping the kid from remembering. "Could you please touch the tree?" He eventually decided to ask the boy. Said boy glanced at him and frowned. "As in hugging?"

"If that works better. Touching is most important. They contain your memories." He explained.

Reluctantly the scarred closed in on the tree and reached out to touch it, but just as he made contact the tree shimmered and his hand passed right through. The Yamanaka's eyes widened. He had never seen something like this before. What was stopping the boy from reaching it?

"I don't really think that it is necessarily the trees that contain my memories." The boy muttered, seeming a lot more tired than he had looked in the office.

"Where are they?"

The boy refused to answer, but the Inoichi wasn't a mind-reader for nothing and followed the instinct that was telling him where to go. The boy trailed nervously behind him, but he wasn't stopping him yet, so Inoichi deemed it safe to continue.

Inoichi stopped and cursed under his breath when he spotted the sleeping form of another slightly-younger looking Obito that lay somewhat hidden a large opening at the roots of a hollow tree. He concentrated on the presence of the right scarred Obito. He was still there.

He glanced between the two figures.

There were both there.

Darn it.

This was _not_ good news. The chances that two personalities would come into existence if he were to release all the memories any time soon, would be too great for him to risk doing so. The slight different vibe he got from them was worrying as well. Were they already too far to merge? On the other hand, the sense that the boy was drawn to his sleeping persona, judging by the way he was staring at it, was probably good news. Maybe they would be able to merge if it happened slowly.

They would just have to be careful not to break the dam so to speak.

"I see…" He eventually told the boy standing uncomfortably next to him. "It's alright Obito-kun." He tried to reassure the boy, but the Uchiha wasn't really paying attention to him.

"Are there a few memories that you are able share with me?" He asked the boy, who finally snapped himself out of his trance.

The boy nodded slowly and walked past the hollow three to a few others. They weaved through the small forest and it didn't take long for him to reach their destination. The tree he was heading too seemed to be healthier than the rest, Inoichi noted with interest. He gestured to the tree and touched it, this time not passing through it.

"Minato-sensei lecturing me." The boy said with a sheepish smile. The blond ninja was glad to finally see some clear emotion from the boy. He had been quite silent the whole time which had made Inoichi even more worried. Looking at the smile though, he knew that the boy just needed some of his memories back to become livelier.

He slowly nodded and he reached out to the tree himself. The boy didn't stop him and the memory flashed in front of him mind. He chuckled slightly and nodded his thanks to the Uchiha still touching the tree. He suddenly looked reluctant to let go, which immediately alarmed the ninja.

"You can let go now."

The boy didn't move.

"Obito-kun… let go." He said, using his 'superior' voice.

The boy scowled and ever so slowly let go. As soon as the contact with the tree was broken, Inoichi took the Chuunin's arm to cut of the urge to touch the tree again. The boy lowered himself to the ground as he looked with surprise at the hand. Inoichi followed him by crouching in front of him.

"Be careful not to become too obsessed by the memories that are returning to you Obito-kun." The Yamanaka warned him, having seen the dangers many times before. Living in the past wasn't healthy.

"H-hai." The Uchiha nodded, shaking himself out of his thought.

Unknown to the man, Naruto was kind of freaking out after having this unplanned and scary reaction to Obito's memory.

The blond nodded and was about to stand up again when suddenly something caught his attention.

His eyes narrowed as he looked at the ground. The grass that he was standing on looked _off_. It was as if it was growing over something, covering it. Something that was supposed to be hidden. It seemed to be fading away from sight, but he had spotted it anyway. The scarred boy looked at him questioningly and gasped when he actually shifted to touch the strange… pattern? His eyes narrowed as he traced the line that seemed to be all over the clearing.

'Is that a sea-?' His attention was shifted when he heard a low growl of pain. He quickly redrew his hand from the ground and mentally slapped himself from giving in to the urge of touching it. Of all the things he had been taught, not touching anything had to be the most important.

"Stop." The boy said in such a strong voice that he couldn't help but comply.

"I did. I apo-" The blond didn't have the chance to continue.

The boy was still clutching his head and moved himself to a praying pose, head down. Around them, trees started swaying and the lines on the ground disappeared completely.

"Go away." The boy growled, closing his eye.

As this technique wasn't meant to be forceful and actually depended on the permission of the subject, that order pushed him forcefully out of the boys mind before he could respond. He was unable to see the figure of Obito shift into a taller and blond young man, who started to curse loudly in his mind.

"Urgh my poor head!" He complained loudly, not even able to pat himself on the back for his good acting. "Why?" He cried out. " Why did it have to be Inoichi of all people?"

He grumpily stomped out of the clearing into the direction of the shadows that would lead to his consciousness. Then he stopped and groaned even louder.

"He saw the seal stupid!" He complained and face-palmed himself.

They were not going to leave him alone yet. Grumbling even more, Naruto stomped into the opposite direction, having to make sure that Kyuubi would be completely undetectable for the next couple of visits. He couldn't help but wonder where his luck had gone.

'Is this a Karma thing? What the hell did I do wrong?'

Maybe he should go start gambling in the near future in an attempt to get it back.

~ Reality ~

The Yamanaka snapped awake and straightened immediately, feeling the arms of the two men support him tense in surprise as they had tried to keep his position in place.

He let out a groan as the forceful mental push hit home. His hand rubbed his head in a soothing manner as he turned to the wary men that were watching his odd reaction. They both were fully aware that this was not the normal way to wake up.

Inoichi stared at the Uchiha that sat still unconscious in front of him. Was it possible? Was the boy's mind actually sealed _inside his mind_ of all things? He had never thought that -

"Report." The Hokage eventually stated when the mind-wanderer got too caught up in his thoughts.

Straightening once again, he turned to the two men with a troubled expression. "I think we might have a problem." He carefully stated.

The atmosphere became a lot tenser.

"Whatever happened to him, whoever did this, I have never seen something like that before." The ninja stated and then proceeded to explain what he had seen. The two other men soon matched his troubled and worried frown. The Third Hokage could practically feel the headache that would haunt him in a couple of hours.

"A seal." Minato breathed out and his eyes widened in horror. "While they could not find a seal on his body during examination."

"Inoichi-san, could you see the design?" He continued, trying his best not to let panic get a hold of him.

"No completely. That is the most troubling. It was hidden." The man answered, noting the urgency in the blond's voice.

_Hidden in his mind. _That was unheard off. Until now at least. Whoever had done this must have been an absolute genius. That and absolutely crazy.

"Shit. Hokage-sama, there are several seals out there that can…"

"Explode. Make him experience hallucinations. Force him to follow orders. I am aware of that Minato." The man gruffly stated, his brain already working on finding a solution for this surprising turn of events.

He had primarily been trying to make sure that the boy had not been an imposter.

Instead they had come across something more serious.

They didn't waste much time. Minato immediately picked up the still unconscious boy and followed the Hokage with a quick body flicker technique. Not much later they had moved towards a special type of cell, usually designed for enemy ninja who had abilities to commit suicide with – so to speak - a final blast.

It didn't take long for Minato to put his student down and to carefully put another seal on the child's forehead. It was a special chakra seal that would alert them if any big chance would occur in the boy's chakra levels. That way they would have enough time to move away if it was necessary.

Minato regarded his student with a sad expression while feeling angry on the inside.

'Why would anyone place a seal in a thirteen-year-old's mind?'

Indeed. A seal could be pretty dangerous. Fortunately they also had an advantage, as all seals shared the same 'language' so to speak. So as long as they would be able to take a look at the seal. They would be able to figure out what kind of seal Obito had in his mind. Unfortunately, they would need to see it.

Now that the necessary precosions were taken, they all relaxed ever so slightly.

"If there is a seal…" Minato spoke up. "Then it should become visible at some point. If we were to trigger-"

"Minato-sama, with all respect, that isn't possible. Releasing all his emotions at once would overwhelm the boy and the two personalities would lose their chance to merge peacefully." Inoichi cut in, having tagged along with the Hokage, as he was not keyed into the system as the Hokage's nominated successor was.

Minato's hand clenched.

"Maybe I could alter it if it is a dangerous seal" He stated. The others didn't immediately protest, as he was well known for his skills with seals, but they weren't really content with the idea either.

"I would have to take you into his mind anyway." Inoichi murmured, trying to figure out which technique would be the best for that kind of procedure.

The men stared at each other for a while, before they all sighed deeply at the same time.

"That boy is quite a hand full."

Minato smiled slightly at that statement. "That's Obito for you."

The Sandaime moved his pipe to his lips once more. "As long as he his danger status is 'unknown', we will continue to keep quiet about his return for now. Even the Uchiha will have to remain unaware." Third ordered with a slight reluctance.

"Since he was put in the confidential wing of the hospital, I trust that the information will be kept a secret. Still, please make sure that the information has been hidden." He continued. "Beside this, I trust that your student will be able to keep this a secret." He stated, giving his future successor a pointed look.

Minato nodded gravely.

The Hokage turned towards the other blond.

"Are you ready to do this now, or do you need more time."

The Yamanaka stared at the Uchiha for a moment before his eyes became more determined.

"No I'm ready."

~ Mindscape ~

The moment the ninjustu was activated, Naruto knew that something was off. His mind was being invaded once again, though more subtle, by _two_ people. Minato-sensei was probably tagging along then.

'Shit. I was afraid that this would happen.' He thought, his suspicions being confirmed.

They were most likely worried about the seal then. Naruto was very much aware of the dangers himself, so he wasn't that surprised. He only hoped that they would calm down when they saw the 'simple' lay-out of the seal once it was visible. After all, though it was a new seal, he was sure that his father should be able to see that its function was only to regain him from remembering – and to hide the second seal but he wouldn't notice that.

Time to act then.

Standing in the middle of his mind, he spread his arms and let himself fall back in the soft grass that made his landing very comfortable. He took a very deep breath and slowly breathed out, all the tension leaving him.

There was a long silence before the pair finally entered the clearing.

"His mind is so…" Minato started but trailed of at the end of the sentence.

"Extraordinary?" Inoichi offered, nodding in agreement. "There are very few people who had such, knowledge over their mind. I am unsure whether Obito is aware of what has happened once he is really awake, but being able to control his mindscape to such extend is impressive. It is almost as if-"Inoichi stopped.

"As if?"

"As if someone helped him with it." Inoichi admitted.

Naruto listened to the conversation with interest and feigned sleep. As this was his mind and – as Inoichi had stated – he was very much in control, he could actually fool them quite easily. Being forced to learn how to communicate with Kyuubi in his mind at an early age did really give him an advantage in that matter. He would out to be a great Genjutsu specialist had his chakra control been so horribly lacking.

"Is he dreaming?" Minato spoke up as they moved closer to the figure lying peacefully in this mind. "He probably is. It happens often as the subject either falls asleep or wakes up immediately after the jutsu." Inoichi agreed.

Minato nodded before his expression became more serious.

"Where is the seal?"

"I think you are standing on it."

Minato glanced around and crouched down.

His hand lingered slightly over the grass before he touched it. Nothing happened and he moved his hand a little more the left. He continued this technique until he hit something and Naruto immediately felt himself snap to attention as his seal's defence kicked in. He groaned painfully, rolling over to clutch is head. I

The feeling quickly left him as Minato redrew his hand.

Naruto swayed slightly as he raised himself to rest on all fours. Even though he had been prepared for it, he had been caught off guard with how quickly it happened.

'I never thought that it actually would work that well.' He thought as blinked up at the two men that were now staring at him.

"What are you doing?" He complained, acting as if he wasn't aware of the fact that his mind was being invaded without his permission.

"We are looking for a seal." Minato explained quite easily, to which Naruto blinked once again.

"Seriously? But then why are you-"He was cut off as Minato touched the seal once again, while studying his reaction this time.

At first the dull pain returned and Naruto groaned in exaggerating protest. "Stop it!" He complained. He had been prepared to continue, when he was suddenly caught off guard. His father had moved his hand away from the seal ever so slightly. However, unlike last time, he didn't completely redraw his hand but he touched it with two fingers instead. Ever so slowly the man started manipulating the seal's energy with a look of concentration on his face.

"Is that safe?" Inoichi muttered softly at the man.

"As long as it doesn't put my own energy into it." The man muttered back.

'So Ero-sannin hadn't been kidding when he said that my father was a genius when it came to seals.' Naruto thought in slight shock. He had just by-passed the seals first defence.

'Now he will probably get to the second one.'

Not a moment later, every thought went blank for the teenager. Naruto did notice that the blond frowned at his suddenly dazed expression though.

"Obito…"

'It's not that easy old man.'

Minato grumbled in annoyance as he glanced between his connection to the seal that was still hidden by the grass, to the place where Naruto was currently standing.

"Obito!"

No response.

Strange, his surroundings were starting to sway ever so slightly, Naruto mused. Was this supposed to happen? He wasn't completely sure anymore.

"Inoichi-san! Drag him over here!" The man urged the other and not a moment later Naruto blinked owlishly as Minato's hand was suddenly placed on his forehead.

"Obito-kun?"

A slight twitch.

"Obito." Minato called out once more, using his 'sensei' voice this time. There had been a rather urgent tone to it which made Naruto snap to attention rather quickly.

"H-hai?" He stammered, the spell now broken.

"Chance the clearing into a sparing ground."

"Huh?"

"Just do it."

Secretly, Naruto grinned at his father. The man had passed his little test. He was glad, or else it would have been suspicious to just simply let the seal appear from his hiding place. Inwardly he smiled broadly as he let the grass dissolve around them and let the seal appear.

He could barely hide his amusement as Minato started studying the seal rather feverishly.

Naruto sat in the middle of the clearing, staring at the man as he did his work. Inoichi joined him not much later after polity asking if he could. He had learned his lesson it seemed. After a long time of following and admiring the future's Hokage process, the man turned around and smiled.

"Don't worry. The seal is safe. Obito, you will get your memories back eventually."

Naruto grinned at the man, feeling very much relieved that his plan had worked.

"Yes! Thank you Sensei!"

'Now you surely don't have to tweak it either.' Naruto thought, relieved. At least he hoped that the man wouldn't.

Not much later, they were all back in the world of the living and Obito blinked as he took in the change of surroundings, secretly amused by the ninja's paranoia.

"Did I miss something?"

~ A couple of hours later ~

He took one bite and another, and another.

He savoured every taste very carefully. He did his best to imprint the combination of heavenly flavours in his mind. He watched, in an almost hypnotising manner, as he swirled his chopsticks through the content of his cup.

He could die peacefully again.

It had been a long time since Naruto had eaten the godly foods of the Ichiraku Ramen Stand. To actually see and taste not only the food but also the great atmosphere that the now much younger Teuchi. He had stared at the man for about a full minute. Effectively freaking out Teuchi and making Rin and Minato become worried at the same time.

But then again, his 'team' seemed to be worried about nearly everything he did.

"Obito calm down! You might choke!" Rin spoke up out of nowhere.

This, in turn, made Naruto nearly choke on his food as Obito's body did not have the ability of eating that quickly after having spent months in the woods. He started coughing heavily and hit himself on the chest.

Two hands started to pound his back in comfort and eventually Naruto calmed down again.

"Are you alright?" Sensei inquired, looking at him while his chopsticks were half raised to his mouth.

"Obito!"

"Sorry Rin-chan" Alright so maybe he had been savouring every taste a little too quickly.

The girl's eyes widened slightly before he was rewarded with a bright grin. There was a sense of relief, as Naruto automatically had used the endearment. Naruto frowned momentarily as he realised that it felt perfectly normal to do so. Relieved, he returned the grin and tugged the black bandana further over his head in order to hide his hair to distract himself from scratching the back of his neck. He then moved to readjust the black cloth that covered the bandage that ran diagonally from his left eye to his right cheek.

Unfortunately, they hadn't let him wear his goggles, much to his protest.

They had placed a seal there after Minato had expressed his preference to have the boy move about – to keep an eye on him instead of constantly keeping him hidden in one of the hospital rooms – so that memories might come back easier. They left out the very obvious reason that they didn't want anyone to recognise him until he was labelled totally clean. They were going to observe his behaviour for a while.

Naruto had nearly slammed his head down onto the wooden desk when he realised that this babysitting was not going well with the upcoming threat that would come to haunt him eventually.

Not that a part of him didn't want to enjoy his time with his father.

Even if that meant becoming a test-subject.

So was there this recently-developed seal that Minato had put on him, which was meant to supress his chakra signature. The downside of the seal was that it messed up one's chakra control in order to decrease the chakra outlet. However since, according to the current and future Hokage, Obito 'was not going to fight any time soon' that would not be a problem.

Naruto grumbled in annoyance. They were still acting like he as a spy. Then again, they could really know the reason of why his memories were hidden. Who knows, he might have gotten the order to spy on them and to return as soon as the memory returned.

He taking another bite he tugged down his scarf to make sure not to spill food on it.

The dark red – unfortunately not orange - scarf that they had draped around his neck effectively hid most of the lower part of his face. He understood the fact that they wanted him to remain anonymous for now, not ready to proclaim his return from the dead yet.

That didn't mean that he hadn't protested. He thought, his hand moving to scratch the back of his neck that was also covered by the scarf. Before could react it, a hand swatted it away.

"But sensei! It itches so badly!" He refused to think that he might have whined at that moment.

"You will have to deal with it." The man simply said, while taking another bite.

Letting out an exaggerated sigh, Naruto started swirling his chopsticks in his bowl. His eyes followed the movement for a long time. He was well aware that his two companions where shooting glanced to each other. Especially Rin, who was most worried about him and already started to form an obsession about his well-being.

"Obito-kun?"

The red-scarfed ninja hummed in response.

"Are you feeling alright?" Minato asked worriedly.

"I'm alri-" Naruto started, but was cut off by another person.

"Sensei, the Hokage wan-"

"Kakashi-kun!" Rin exclaimed, sounding happy and nervous at the same time.

"Kakashi-kun." Minato echoed with a smile. "How was your mission?"

Naruto tensed, not having managed to pick up his chakra signature in time. He suddenly felt very nervous as he was fully aware of the blue eyes that shifted in his direction to keep an eye on his reaction.

He managed to take another bite of ramen in an effort to calm himself, tugged his scarf safely back over his face and turned around to welcome the 'unknown visitor' as calmly as he could.

'Will he even be able to recognise me with my face practically being fully covered?' He wondered, steeling his nerves once more.

"I managed just fine." The voice replied flatly, sounding very tired and dull.

Kakashi's voice sounded so… empty, Naruto realised as he forced himself to relax as he stared at child that would be his strong aloof sensei of the future. He might have looked completely different, but he could immediately recognise the haunted eye. It was the same haunted look that he would wear when he would look at the Memorial Stone in the future.

It was a moment after that Kakashi seemed to take fully notice of him and glanced in his direction.

His eye met Kakashi's only visible eye, feeling the seal reacting to the many memories that seemed to stir at the boy's sight.

Naruto couldn't help but feel that this meeting would go less smooth than meeting with the rest of Obito's team.

**~ End Chapter ~**

Dundundun! What will happen now? Yes I'm evil, but the next part is going to be even trickier to write, so I want to take my time for it. Please feed me some inspiration or ideas to make the most awesome reunion ever seen before! So review! Please?

And I'm still looking for a beta of course! Hope to update within two weeks again, but it all depends on the time and motivation!

Hope to hear from you guys soon! :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary**: Naruto does not have gotten the reputation of being the most surprising ninja for nothing. To keep up this reputation, the blond often lands himself in unusual situations that ask for the most unusual solutions. However, caught in a clash of jutsu while fighting Madara to the bitter end, and waking up in Obito's body buried under piles of stones was not something even Naruto thought possible. How will Naruto take care of the upcoming threat of Akatsuki and Madara in a past he does not know, while starting a new legend for Uchiha Obito? How will he use this second chance?

**Beta**: **Beloved Daughter**. So no need to read mistakes in my grammer anymore.

Hello dear and faithful readers! Yes I once again managed to update on time! Here is the 'long-awaited' reunion! Snif! But first I would like to thank all the people that take time to review. It always gives me a little boost and a warm fuzzy feeling to know that my writings are appreciated. For those who didn't, thank you for the favs and the like, but please don't hesitate to share what you think!

Now I have finally found a beta, dear Beloved Daughter. I hope it makes the flow of the story a little better. She worked very quickly so you probably won't have much delay with her. Thank you Beloved!

Anyway enough babbling on my part!

I hope this makes you grin, laugh, frown and cry – well not cry. Please don't cry.

Enjoy!

**Chapter 8 Weight on the Shoulders**

Two dark eyes stared each other in the eye.

A strange heavy sensation fell upon them, which made Naruto twitch in discomfort ever so slightly.

Naruto swore that he saw a flash of heavy emotions in Kakashi's eyes, but it was gone before he could be entirely sure. However, what he did notice was that Kakashi's face suddenly seemed a lot blanker, as if he was hiding his emotions.

'So he is affected by my presence after all.'

Naruto knew that this was Kakashi's way of handling emotional situations, as he had done so many times in the future. However, in Obito's eyes, it reminded him more of the selfish and cold-hearted bastard that had been belittling him for a while now.

To make it worse, the blank and uninterested look made Kakashi seem quite arrogant.

Not the best association for Obito's memories to be called up to, Naruto decided.

'Oh, oh…' He thought as his fears were confirmed.

Naruto could feel it. His seal was already acting up. He had no real memory that had come back to him, but the impressions and feelings that got to the surface were _not_ very positive ones. Which might be troubling, seeing as Naruto had difficulty with remaining subtle and calm when he was angry. Much like how Obito would act.

Naruto felt his eye narrow dangerously as Kakashi seemed to shake himself out of his thoughts and then proceeded to dismiss his presence as if he was just a simple bystander that was not worth his attention.

'So he doesn't recognize me?' Naruto mused. 'Must be because he can't sense the chakra signature.' He decided, knowing that anyone wouldn't expect a 'dead' teammate to be hidden under the scarf.

Still, that didn't mean that he could dismiss him like that!

'_Who does that bastard think he is_!' He thought before he could stop himself.

Where had that come from?

He almost took control of his emotions, before he stopped himself.

Mentally, Naruto realized that he felt reluctant to let himself go with the flow, but seeing as it was necessary – Kakashi's eyes told him that he really _needed_ to be reunited with _Obito_ – he allowed himself to push away all his future memories for a while. He was going to act completely instinctively. He was going to be Obito.

And Obito was currently feeling very much like punching that bastard in the face.

Fortunately for said bastard, a hand was put on his shoulder. 'I will restrain you if I have to' was the message behind it. His sensei must have noticed his abrupt shift in mood. His angry eye glanced at the blond, whose blue eyes were watching him very carefully.

He glanced at Kakashi again, feeling his ire rising once again.

Naruto turned to his sensei, his inner frustration dangerously bubbling.

A light flash of memory allowed him to 'realize' that he should know him. As Naruto expected, a flash of having Kakashi berate him about something was not a very positive introduction. His eyes widened slightly as he looked at the Kakashi once again. His eye empty eye socket started itching. He knew why of course, but since the memory was not resurfacing he didn't say anything.

Instead he just rubbed it with the back of his hand and he watched as Rin started a conversation with the white-haired Jounin. She must have felt that the tension between the two were steadily rising and decided to intervene. She seemed to be good at noticing like that.

In the corner of his eye, he saw blue eyes sharpening as soon as he started rubbing his eye.

"I know him, don't I? Is he my teammate?" The scarfed boy inquired softly, meeting Minato's blue eyes once more.

Minato grinned slightly. "Yeah he is." He confirmed, seemingly glad that he was remembering.

"Then why the hell am I feeling so angry towards this guy?" He whispered towards the man, said anger finally leaking through his voice.

This seemed to catch the man off guard. The blue eyes saddened, even though there was a glimmer of hope that remained. Minato didn't answer his question this time but instead sighed rather tiredly. "I will explain that later. Just calm down." He clenched his shoulder a little firmer as emphasis.

Naruto nearly growled at him. Easy for him to say. He didn't have to ignore the emotions that were not raging inside of him.

'Where is all this anger- no wait it is not anger. Where does all this frustration come from?' Naruto never thought that the man he had looked up to for so long could evoke so much emotion from him.

Kakashi suddenly seemed to remember why he was here and turned away from Rin even though she was still talking to him. Naruto felt another spike of strong annoyance and he allowed him to sneer, since it would be hidden by that scarf.

"As I said Sensei, the Hokage has requested" There was a tiny pause before Kakashi continued. "_Team Minato_ to come and see him." Kakashi drawled out, his eye flickering towards Obito once more.

There was a little bit of hostility in his eye as he put emphasis on the name of his team. Naruto's eye widened ever so slightly as realization dawned upon him. Naruto couldn't help but wonder if Kakashi was currently thinking that Obito was going to be _replaced_.

He thought he was here to replace his old teammate!

'I get it.' Naruto nodded to himself. He could understand that anger and hostility, having had the same feelings when Sai replaced Sasuke's place.

Unfortunately Obito did not have the same feelings to understand this. To make it worse, Naruto noted, his emotions were starting to feel much stronger than before too. It wouldn't take long before he was going to sn-

"Who are you anyway?" Kakashi drawled as soon as Rin was done talking again. The tone was everything but polite. Obito glared at the boy, his anger boiling. Minato's hand suddenly didn't seem much like a warning anymore.

"Kakashi!" Minato snapped, his disapproval clearly heard.

However, Minato had been too late. The damage was gone.

It had been the tone that had been the final drop. Naruto would decide later on. _The_ tone. How much he despised that belittling tone! He was his teammate damn it! He did earn a little bit of respect!

He felt something snap.

"Bastard!" He growled out and jumped forward. Before he realized what he was doing, Minato had grabbed his scarf and had pulled him back rather roughly.

"Behave yourself boys!" He tried to remind them, but he was pointedly ignored.

Kakashi was now openly glaring at the teenager in front of him. How dare that guy remind him of his dead teammate so much! How _dare_ he sit next to his sensei like he belonged there! Why the hell did Rin give him a worried look? He didn't understand what was going on. Had he been calmer, he might have realized that something was off, but this was not the case. The feeling of numbness that he had been hovering in for a long time was broken and the emotions – and the guilt, so much guilt – that had cropped up there needed an outlet.

Kakashi glared at him, his face visibly struggling to keep blank. It was much like that time tha- Flashes of memories took over.

"_I'm your superior! You will listen to m-"_

Naruto took a large breath of air as his eye widened. His hands clenched so hard that his knuckles went white.

"_Cry-baby."_

"Brat, are you alright?" His sensei called him. His tone was urgent and the grip on his shoulder tensed.

He ignored it as he clenched his eye shut.

_They were not going to make it. He had to act _now_! They were going to get crushed! _Save_ Kakashi! _Protect_ your teammates! Without even thinking about what he was doing, he grabbed his teammate and –_

"K-ka-kakashi?" He shakily breathed out so softly that only Minato heard him. The grip tightened.

"Get a hold of yourself." The blond sensei muttered to the boy, shaking his shoulder ever so slightly to get him out of his thought. Inoichi-san had warned him that they shouldn't rush into things. They had to be careful with Obito's memories.

"I'm alr-"

'_Shit.' He thought as he saw the stones descending down upon him. This was going to hurt. He closed his eyes and waited for the pai-_

It was suddenly a lot harder to breath. "What's wrong with him?" He heard Kakashi drawl out, sounding annoyed.

_He couldn't breathe. _The memory was overlapped by his own. _He had to get away. Everything was too close. _

'It just had to be that memory, didn't it?' Naruto thought absently as he felt the room closing in on him. Even Minato's hand was too much.

He needed air. He needed a place in open air. He needed to breathe.

"Brat?" Naruto's heart twisted at how worried the man sounded.

"Outside." He breathed out as he tried to desperately pull away from the man. Minato hadn't been quite expecting him to react so quickly and Obito slipped from his grasp. He roughly bumped Kakashi in the shoulder – just because it felt incredibly good doing so at the moment– and he dashed away.

"O-!" Rin started calling out his name but quickly stopped. "Come back!"

Minato's eyes narrowed as he saw his charge flee from the building. This had not been his intention at all. He never thought that he would react so strongly to Kakashi.

'Though Kakashi always was the one to get him riled up.' He reminded himself, absently scratching his cheek.

Of course, Minato wasn't very worried about Obito escaping. He could easily run after the boy if he wanted to. He could literally catch him within a second because of the hidden seal that he had subtly painted underneath the repressor seal. Still, even if he were to catch him, it was not going to work.

The boy seriously needed an outlet.

'An outlet huh?'

His thoughtful eye flickered to Kakashi, who was glaring in the direction the teenager had run off to. The blond noticed that his hand was clenched, knuckles white. To be truthful, to actually see that amount of emotion from the teenager was very refreshing. Kakashi had been numb ever since Obito's death.

The guilt was gnawing at him and he refused to let go of it. Instead he had dealt with it in a very Shinobi-like way, by not thinking about it and letting it all build up.

Only the frequent visits to the Memorial Stone had indicated that Kakashi still felt guilty. The rest of the day he was mostly an emotionless ninja, following his duties and hiding away as soon as possible. Not that the rest of Team Minato had allowed that to happen.

'Though I must admit that I have been very busy with the upcoming Hokage position.' Minato thought, feeling rather guilty. His eye glanced towards the girl next to him. 'And with Rin constantly working at the Hospital, it is quite difficult to keep the team intact.'

That did not mean that Kakashi had not been recovering of course, but he had yet to show that amount of passion. 'Knowing the Jounin, he probably always will feel guilty. Unless he finds an outlet that will- Wait a minute.'

A sudden idea popped up in his head.

His eyes sparkled for a moment. Ever so slowly a smirk slipped onto his face, which he quickly hid as he turned towards Kakashi.

This would be good for both of them.

"Kakashi." He said sternly, causing the teen to tense ever so slightly. He eyed him with a serious expression. "Go out and retrieve our new team-mate. Get to know him. I know that you don't like this, but look _underneath the underneath_ for once."

The teenager glared at him, nearly making Minato grin in joy. His stern expression remained on his face though. 'This is going to be good.' The blond thought, mentally patting himself on the back.

"But Sensei! We don't need another tea-

"Kakashi!" He barked, actually enjoying the fact that the boy tried to argue with him. "It was _not_ a question." It was an order. "Meet us at the Hokage tower when you are done."

A _very_ blank expression flickered on Kakashi's face as the teenager nodded towards his sensei. Minato was fully aware that the kid was seriously pissed off. Even with his blank expression, Minato could practically see the steam coming from his ears.

The white-haired teenager stiffly turned around and started following the guy with the red scarf.

How dare Minato-sensei forget about Obito like that?

'I will drag that guy back alright. That scarf will be very useful.' The white-haired teenager thought broodingly. A part of him realized that he was acting irrational, though. So, with a lot of effort he decided that he would try to play… polite. Not nice though. He didn't feel like being nice at all.

Taking a deep breath, Kakashi continued following the figure in the distance. His eyes narrowed when he noticed that he was moving towards a certain training ground.

'Did sensei show him around or something?' He wondered as he dashed forward with a little more speed.

~Back in the ramen stand~

Rin stared after the pair with a worried expression. She sighed heavily, suddenly feeling a bit left out.

She turned to her sensei and eying him uncomfortably. "Sensei… are you really going to let them…?

Her eyes widened slightly when she saw her sensei grin widely. It was not the simple wide grin either. No it was a smile that seemingly threatening to split his face.

'He is planning something.' She concluded cautiously, having seen that particular grin a couple of times before.

"Don't worry Rin-chan!"

That tone also sounded far too happy. It made Rin suspicious.

"Those boys just need to get some anger out of their system." Minato happily explained to her as he grabbed the bowl that Obito had abandoned. It was still warm.

Rin sweat dropped as he saw her sensei gulp it down in record time. "You are going to let them fight among each other _alone_?" She asked, having difficulty to leave the 'are-you-out-of-your-mind' tone out of her voice.

"Aw, Rin-chan! You are so cute when you worry about your teammates!" Minato exclaimed, having caught the tone effortlessly, patting her head affectionately.

The girl fought a blush and sputtered out a protest. "Sensei, I'm not cute!" She said, trying to gently slap away his hand.

"Aw you are even cuter when you blush." Minato teased her, patting her one more time and then he quickly gulped down the last of the remains.

Rin wisely decided to remain silent as her cheeks got only warmer. Instead she grumbled under her breath, which Minato in turn wisely decided to ignore.

"Bye Teuchi!" Minato called out as he stood up, his student following his example.

"Well Rin-chan, let's make sure that they don't kill each other, ne?" He asked, holding out his hand for him take.

Rin took the hand without pausing, being familiar with the technique.

"How do you know where they are going?" She asked.

Minato just grinned. "Because, even though Obito might not remember everything, that does not mean that he will not follow his habits. Tell me. Where did he go to nearly every day? Most often in such a rush that he has taught himself how to reach it as fast as possible from any location?" He explained to her and smiled as Rin's eyes widened in realization.

"Kakashi-kun is not going to like the fact that he is heading somewhere close to the Memorial Stone…" She muttered, suddenly looking a little worried.

"Nope he certainly won't!" Minato agreed – though he didn't seem to share her worry at all – and chuckled as he took a step forward. Before his foot even touched the ground he was gone, taking his student along with him.

~Training ground Three ~

'How odd, I wasn't even really thinking about where I was going.' The ninja pondered as he finally realized where he was.

Naruto was breathing heavily as he finally reached his destination. His dash towards the training ground seemed like a blur, but now that he had arrived, his mind seemed to become clearer. He let out a sigh of relief and wiped his clammy forehead. He reached up to take off the bandana. He was not used to covering his air and he needed it to breath for a bit.

"Stupid Kakashi." He muttered angrily, tugging at the cloth as it wasn't giving away.

He growled slightly and started working on realizing the knot on the back of the bandana.

The ninja startled slightly as he saw something rush at him and before he knew it he was on his back on the ground. Somebody had tackled him. Naruto's breath was knocked out of him and he absently realized that someone was straddling him, effectively restraining him.

White hair brightened up as the moon appeared from behind the clouds.

'Stupid seal.' Naruto thought, not having noticed him following him.

'Of course they would follow, you idiot! You are nearly a friendly prisoner of some sort!'

While having this mental argument with himself, he owlishly blinked up at the figure hovering over him. Unsurprisingly, the figure was indeed Kakashi.

'Well I wasn't expecting this.' He thought. 'I guess I'm lucky that I didn't get off my bandana. If Minato-sensei wants me to keep my identity a secret he must have a good reason for it.' He continued, trying very hard to ignore the fact that he simply did not want to have this confrontation with Kakashi and that Minato's opinion did have little to do with his reluctance.

After all, Kakashi was part of the team. So, of course, the ninja was going to know eventually.

But if Naruto had anything to say about it, it would not be today.

He snapped out of his thoughts when his scarf was roughly grabbed by a pair of hands and shaken a few times.

"…you listening to me?" He heard the teenager on top of him growl.

His eye twitched as he finally acknowledged the fact that the teenager was indeed on top of him. He might be a ninja and therefore body contact – fighting especially - was part of the life, but that did not mean that he liked it. Especially since it restricted his movements, which-

_He couldn't move. He was stuck. He needed to move. _

His defences acted up.

"Get off me!" He protested shakily, trying to push him away from him.

Kakashi didn't react but just kept glaring at him. "I don't know why you ran away like that, but you are coming back with me". He stated with a very serious voice.

Naruto just growled at him and whispered harshly in reply. "I'm serious. If you are not going to move right now, then I'm going to hit you where it hurts." He threatened.

Kakashi glanced down for a moment to see that Naruto had poised his hands just above his stomach, at the level his diaphragm. A well-aimed punch so close would indeed be very uncomfortable. The guy had acted quite quickly, the white-haired ninja noted. His 'apparent' new teammate had not given him the chance to grasp his arms and pull them above his head. Instead, the other teenager had clamped his arms to his sides as soon as he had landed safely and brought them up in the space between him.

Naruto saw Kakashi analyzing his moves for a moment and slowly nodded.

"No need to have tackled me." He mumbled, as Kakashi got off him.

"I did not want you to flee again." Kakashi said, though Naruto easily translated it to a 'just because I felt like showing you who the boss is'.

Stupid Scarecrow, and he had not fled damn it!

"Bastard." He muttered softly as he pushed himself of the ground.

Then before he knew it, Kakashi swept him of feet and put a foot down on the teen's chest. Naruto automatically grasped the limb with both hands and clenched his hands in warning. His anger was rising.

"What the hell is your problem?" He shouted at the other teenager, who was silently seething.

"Don't call me that!"

"I will call you the hell I want! You are acting like one!" He screamed right back, his throat hoarse from having to use it a lot the last couple of days. He did not practice it a lot when he was alone and he wondered if it was the reason why Kakashi hadn't recognized Obito's voice yet.

"Bastard." The Uchiha added for the good measure.

The weight of the foot increased and Naruto tried not to show that he suddenly had difficulty breathing.

"Do. Not. Call. Me. That!" Kakashi growled out, his blank façade finally starting to fade. He leaned over once again and made a grasp for the scarf again.

His hand was caught by Naruto, who coughed in response to the weight on his chest. "Don't fucking tell me what to do Bastard!" He howled, his frustration finally breaking and he pulled at the limb, causing Kakashi to flip over before he could do something to his foot. Naruto was quick to grab him however and pulled himself on top of him in order to restrain him.

They continued rolling for a moment, each trying to restrain the other one.

Eventually Naruto managed to use the momentum to kick Kakashi away from him, who flipped and landed half-crouched with a hand on the ground to steady himself.

'He wants to vent on me? Fine, he will get it all back!' He mentally growled. The idea of finally letting out all the frustration that was building up inside of him sounded like a brilliant idea.

Naruto righted himself as soon as Kakashi was in the air.

They glared for a while at each other, as the moon once again crept toward another fluffy cloud. At an unspoken signal the two moved.

Charging forward, they met in the middle of the clearing and started kicking out, blocking, pulling and pushing. Naruto had never been in a fight like this one. There were so many emotions involved. Now he thought about it. 'It does remind me a little of that fight with Sasuke.' He mused.

It was clear that Kakashi was better and stronger than he was, but for some reason the white-haired always seemed to hesitate to go above his own level.

'He is holding back.' Naruto realised. 'Why is he holding back?' He had expected to be beaten in no time.

However, Kakashi didn't to put even effort in his punches. He was tired, Naruto could see that. He had probably been on a very tiring mission. Still that was not the real reason, Naruto decided. No, Kakashi was being distracted, very distracted. Naruto caught Kakashi's eyes glazing over ever so slightly. It was as if he was remembering…

'Am I really reminding him of Obito that much?'

"Why the hell are you holding back?" He shouted at him.

Kakashi snapped out of his thought and glared at him. "I would, but sensei won't like it if I dragged you along and you would be unable to walk."

'Stupid bastard. You just feel like receiving a few hits yourself so that you won't get distracted.' Naruto grumbled just before he caught the implication.

"Are you saying I'm weak?" Obito's knuckles turned white.

"Pretty much."

Oh that was it.

Kakashi blocked a kick that Obito send out to him. Naruto flipped back to avoid the punch that Kakashi threw out. He ducked when he swiped out and jumped over a sweep of the legs. Obito pulled back ever so slightly before he jumped forward to get more energy behind the punch he directed to the teenager's chest.

Naruto barely noticed that they had slipped in a pure taijutsu routine. Flashes of memories and a feeling of déjà vu made him slip up a couple of times, but gradually he felt his anger and most of his frustration to slip away. He was glad that Kakashi didn't take advantage of those little blank outs – well most of them anyway.

In no time, both boys were tired and sore. Though Obito was clearly worse off than Kakashi was.

"What is your problem anyway?" He called out to the boy as he closed in on his future sensei.

"Shut up!" Kakashi growled at him, his anger rising once again at the indirect mentioning of the 'dead' Obito.

"I'm your teammate damn it! Stop this!" Naruto shouted and mentally winched as he saw Kakashi's eye narrow dangerously.

'Maybe I shouldn't hav-' He didn't even have the time to finish his thought as Kakashi hit fully in the chest.

Naruto's breath caught in his throat as he suddenly searched back through the air and landed roughly against a tree. Before he could even move, something shiny caught his attention. Kakashi stood right in front of him, his arm crooked as he held the kunai straight against Obito's throat.

"You don't understand." He whispered harshly, which for some reason did sound far more intimidating than all the other things he had shouted and growled at him.

The kunai became even shinier when the moon decided to shine on them once again and the contrast between the two became even clearer. The red scarf clashed against the blue clothes of other teenager. The white-hair seemed to glow ever so slightly, while Obito's bandana seemed to become even darker.

Two dark eyes glared at each other.

"Who am I replacing?" The Uchiha spoke up softly. Naruto honestly wanted to know what Obito had meant to the boy in front of him. Obito had had a great effect on the man he had come to respect greatly far into the future.

Naruto didn't know how long they stood like that before Kakashi silently spoke, but he could see the eye glance into the direction of the Memorial Stone that was now visible. Their fight had gotten them closer to the stone than Naruto had expected and he followed the movement.

"He's dead?" He informed, knowing fully well that 'his' name was on that stone.

Kakashi remained silent, his head bowed ever so slightly as he seemed to pay his respects.

Naruto couldn't help but feel his heart clench at the sight. The fight had loosened a couple of memories of training sessions that had suddenly reminded how much respect Obito had for the teen in front of him. He had been jealous, angry, frustrated and sad with his treatment.

Still, just like Kakashi, the last mission had been a turning point for their frustrated rivalry. It had been that mission that Kakashi and Obito had finally started to understand each other and earned each other's respect.

So seeing his 'rival' and 'brother' and future sensei like that in front of him, Naruto couldn't stop himself anymore.

"You're being stupid." He stated simply.

The hand with the kunai twitched in annoyance of being interrupted.

"Would your teammate want you to wallow in the past?"

"What the hell do you kno-" Kakashi was cursing? Naruto had hit a sour spot it seemed, making him mentally smirk.

"That's _so_ stupid."

The hand of the scarfed teenager reached out and grasped the straps that Kakashi still wore from the mission he had just returned to. Kakashi flinched and growled in warning, but he did not make any move to hurt the guy in front of him.

"Wh-"

"You should focus on the future."

"You don't know anyt-"

"Why would you wallow into pity and guilt like that if it makes you and the people around you suffer?"

"Shu-"

"I'm sure he is very disappointed in yo-"

His eyes widened as Kakashi's face suddenly came closer to him. His headband suddenly lifted up. The kunai was also pressed against his neck, though with the side of the blade as not to cut the boy's neck. It made it difficult for Naruto to talk though as he didn't want to accidentally cut himself.

"Shut up!" Kakashi roared. He was about to say more when he saw the distant look the boy had as he was staring at the Sharingan.

The Uchiha's empty eye-pocket suddenly started itching very badly, much like a Phantom pain. It was as if actually seeing the Sharingan in Kakashi's eye made him more aware of the absence of his own. Releasing the boy's straps he started rubbing at his eye and eye-socket.

He groaned out as memories started overwhelming him.

'_Kakashi_ _I didn't get you a present…implant the eye…Sharingan… see the world…' _

He sagged back against the tree, his knees suddenly feeling weak. The times that he was able to look at the teen, he could only be drawn to the Sharingan that was in the teen's possession.

He started feeling dizzy and chuckled faintly. He let himself slid down to the ground and Kakashi stepped away ever so slightly, realizing that something was wrong.

"Start living in the present, Bastard. There are plenty of other things to enjoy." Naruto said as he finally let go of his eyes.

The moment he looked up at his friend again, he saw his future sensei startle back. He turned deadly shade of pale

"No-no way." Kakashi whispered harshly, denying the possibility.

"He's dead! I saw him get crushed! It was my fau-"

'Oh, oh.' Naruto though as he suddenly realized the reason for his sudden change of demeanor. His eye was using on chakra. 'I activated my Sharingan? How?'

He hadn't even noticed.

Kakashi, however, certainly had.

Naruto didn't stop the teenager as he suddenly appeared crouched in front of him and pried of his scarf and bandana. Naruto winced slightly at the slightly rough handling, but he could understand Kakashi's desperation.

He felt himself become heavy as if something was trying to pull his down. As if something was trying to pull himself up by pulling Naruto down. Whatever it was, it made Naruto feel very dizzy.

"Hi Kakashi-bastard." He said, grinning heavily. "I'm starting to remember you."

Said teenager sat in front of him, absolutely shocked. He took a shuddering breath.

"Obito…" Kakashi gasped, still in shock. 'Is this real?' He couldn't help but wonder and gently touched the scars and slightly mauled part of Obito's face to find confirmation.

"Yeah." Naruto whispered, guilt gnawing at him.

He forced himself to smile, which became more genuine as he saw the amount of life and relief that filled the teenager's face.

"I'm sorry that I'm late." He whispered at last.

It seemed to do the trick and was pulled into a bone-crushing hug. Pulling all his energy together he hugged his friend back, patting him slowly on the shoulder. He plainly ignored Kakashi's shaking shoulders and instead leaned his chin on them. The boy did not make much noise, but instead sobbed silently as his cropped up emotions came to the surface.

Naruto didn't comment on this. It felt very good to feel that amount of love being directed at him.

The rush of the fight had left him and the tiring fight caught up to him. The dizziness of his brain increased and Naruto felt his eyes sliding shut.

The Uchiha was aware of the increase of the pulling sensation and wondered what was going on. 'Is Kyuubi trying to pull me in?' He pondered as he let himself be pulled along.

Kakashi didn't even more as he felt the Uchiha's head grow heavy.

The ninja was now very much aware that something must be wrong for Obito to hide his identity like that. It wouldn't be for nothing, especially not if Minato was concerned. How had they found him? How had he gotten away? Kakashi had tried feverishly and powerlessly tried to get Obito out of there, but his efforts had been futile.

Yet, here he was.

He was really there. Kakashi suddenly connected all the dots. The twisted chakra that did feel somewhat familiar to Obito's, his hoarse voice, his antics. He was really back from the dead.

'No matter what happens, I'm not going to let it happen again.' He promised himself as he tightened his hold on the teenager a little bit more.

A little farther away two figures silently kept their distance to let the white-haired Jounin calm down and have some time for himself.

"Will he be alright?" The shortest one whispered.

"I'm sure he will be." The tallest reassured the girl. 'At least, eventually…' He continued in his mind.

"Now comes the most difficult part." He muttered.

If the girl didn't what he was talking about, she didn't comment on it.

~Mindscape~

"Kyuubi? Was that you?" Naruto called out as he headed towards the fox.

He stopped as he suddenly noticed that something was different. It was not the 'wrong' kind of different, but more like 'something in the air has changed' kind of different.

A certain suspicion gnawed at Naruto as he slowly turned around and headed for a certain fox-hole that a certain Uchiha had been sleeping in.

Just as he turned around a corner, he was tackled to the side and slammed into a tree. Luckily it didn't contain any memory as the tree complied with the wishes of the mind's owner, which was to stand there and to act as a tree that the owner could slam the 'stranger' into.

'What's up with slamming me into trees today?' Naruto wondered as his collar was seized by a pair of hands.

"Who the hell are you? What is going on?"

Naruto groaned out as he had a feeling who this was. His suspicion was confirmed a moment later as he was met with a very familiar face.

Said face glared at him, to which Naruto smiled rather sheepishly at him.

"So, Obito-kun. Did you have any nice dreams lately?"

**~End chapter~**

Finally finished! Oh Kakashi is such a fun character to write. I hope you all liked the reunion between the two.

Of course, the fact that Kakashi knows it is Obito doesn't make it any easier yet, since they will have to talk eventually… about a certain eye for example. Why do I have a feeling that that will be very awkward?

Anyway please share your thoughts! Review! Give me a little bit of your time and all that!

I would love to hear from you guys!

Till next time

~Dreamyin


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary**: Naruto does not have gotten the reputation of being the most surprising ninja for nothing. To keep up this reputation, the blond often lands himself in unusual situations that ask for the most unusual solutions. However, caught in a clash of jutsu while fighting Madara to the bitter end, and waking up in Obito's body buried under piles of stones was not something even Naruto thought possible. How will Naruto take care of the upcoming threat of Akatsuki and Madara in a past he does not know, while starting a new legend for Uchiha Obito? How will he use this second chance?

**Beta**: **Beloved Daughter**. Thanks a lot Beloved Beta ;)

Hello dear and faithful readers! Yes, I know. I haven't sticked to my usual updating schedule this time, because of the overwhelming tight schedule in my Real Life. I had to postpone some schoolwork yesterday evening just to write this, because after all the heartwarming reviews and even some questions about my updating schedule, since there hadn't been one hehe, I couldn't wait any longer.

So here it is, hopefully another piece of the puzzle for you to put in place.

For those people that are interested, I now have a deviantart account (which I have absolutely no clue what to do with lol) and the results of my poll about "which story should I update first" has because quite interesting, since another story has passed this one. Hadn't expected that hehe.

Now I will have to rush off to college, so if will you excuse me. Then you guys can enjoy this and of course, when you hopefully feel like it, review.

Enjoy!

**Chapter 9: Sharing the Weight**

~Unknown Darkness~

The moment that Obito had come here, there were only two words needed to summarize his situation.

"Damn it."

It hadn't taken long for Obito to figure out that he had died. That was what an odd memory told him at least. He had been crushed by boulders in order to save his team-mate. The pain that had come with it as was easy to remember as well. Surely that couldn't have been his imagination right?

If it was, then this would have to be the strangest and most crazy dream that the ninja had _ever_ had. Obito found himself watching Kakashi's adventures through his own eye when Kakashi decided to uncover Obito's sharingan eye? Genjutsu? It was a possibility and though the chances would be very small, his current situation was even more improbable.

After thinking about it for a long time – he surely had enough time to think in the darkness when the Sharingan was covered- Obito decided that he must have died after all. Genjutsu wouldn't feel like this. Being an Uchiha – who had been well-taught about the art of genjutsu – the boy knew that it was impossible for him to be caught in one right now.

Having no other choice, nor anything else to do in the plane of nothingness, Obito waited and helped Kakashi when he could.

Unsurprisingly, the Uchiha had tried to call out to the ninja at first. He desperately wanted to talk to the white-haired ninja, but his screams, cries and even the insults were not heard. Eventually, Obito had tried to fight against the bonds that held him in place. Just before he started to believe that he would become insane from being unable to call out to his friend, there had been one moment that had given Obito hope. One day, during a mission, when he had felt a ninja's presence try to sneak up on Kakashi when he had fallen asleep, Obito had tried to him wake up.

He had screamed, he had cried. He had pulled and pushed against the bonds that held him and had been sure that Kakashi would be killed as well. However, just before it was too late, Obito sent out a tingle of chakra, or whatever energy he had inside of him, out to his friend.

It worked. Somehow.

Kakashi barely woke up in time to miss the fatal hit that had been directed at him.

The ninja had been killed a second later.

At the first opportunity that Kakashi got once he arrived in Konoha, the shinobi visited the Stone. It had been the first time that Kakashi had uncovered his Sharingan when he was there.

"_I don't know if I'm just going crazy Obito. Maybe you will laugh at me when I see you again, but for now I will try to show the future with me more often."_

Obito had been glad and sad that it had been raining that day, as Kakashi wasn't able to figure out if the wetness on his cheek came from the Sharingan or the rain.

After having hovered in this sense of awareness for what felt like a couple of weeks, it had been that moment that had reminded Obito of the words that he had spoken to Kakashi before his death.

'_I will become your eye.' _He had told Kakashi just before he died right. _'And see the future with you.' _

He suddenly clearly remembered the numb pain that he felt when Rin had removed Obito's eye and the sensation of his chakra's strange pulsing as the eye had been placed in Kakashi's eye socket. Had something happened at that moment? Had he been linked to Kakashi?

Whatever had happened, it was all worth it though.

Because, whatever it was, it allowed Obito to follow Kakashi and to aid him in those difficult moments during his life. This was enough for Obito. He had saved his friend for a reason. His friend had become strong. He was only glad that he would be able to follow it.

Still, Obito was sad to see that Kakashi struggled with the guilt that he felt. It didn't happen often, but sometimes, especially when Kakashi would visit the Memento Stone, he would be able to get an impression of the emotions that Kakashi was feeling.

Months passed this way and Obito couldn't help but notice something strange. The restrains were loosening. This excited and scared the shinobi at the same time.

What would happen if he was released? Would he die? Would he fall in this nothingness forever? Would he lose his connection to Kakashi?

So many questions… and no answers at all.

Obito sighed as he once again looked around himself as he hovered in the strange darkness that surrounded him. At least those few emotions that he was able to catch from Kakashi made sure that he didn't get too bored. Yesterday they had finished a very difficult mission. Luckily, Kakashi managed to evade death again.

'Had he not spotted the second ninja, he would have been a goner.' Obito pondered as he tried to lie down in the nothingness, his arms crossed behind his head.

"I wonder when he will reach the Stone. He surely doesn't normally take this long." The ninja complained, feeling more impatient than ever. He liked it when Kakashi talked to him. It made him feel like he was still there.

A tingle of emotions went down Obito's spine and he suddenly felt more alert. It was Kakashi's emotion.

Kakashi felt angry.

It was very rare for Kakashi to experience that much emotion outside of a fight. Never had he felt so angry during the time that Obito had been there either. He usually buried all his emotions.

'Why is he so angry?' Obito wondered and became more impatient.

The emotions slowly started to increase and more were added. Frustration, guilt, sadness and many more threw Obito completely off guard.

'What the hell caused this?' Obito wondered, eyes wide as he shivered. Not that he was complaining. It was exactly what Kakashi needed.

Then suddenly his surroundings morphed and he was seeing the outer world once again.

The first thing that he saw was… was that…

'Me?' Was the only thing that went through his stunned mind before his thoughts went blank and he started twisting against the bonds that pulling him away.

~Obito's Mind ~

There was a soft gasp as a figure tensed in surprise.

'Did I just wake up?' Obito dared to wonder as he froze in shock.

Just a moment ago he had been hovering in the darkness that he had gotten used to. Now, it suddenly looked very fuzzy when he thought about it. Being there had been the oddest sensation.

It was as if he had been dreaming, but that was impossible. So where was he now?

He glanced up and stared at the grass that tickled his nose. He was lying in a fetus-like pose in a hollow tree. The Uchiha blinked in surprise, as he didn't dare to move. He was too scared that he would disappear from this place if he did.

'How is this possible?'

Eyes narrowed as he heaved himself up. "Whatever is going on, I'm going to…"

He took a deep breath when information hit him. Whatever was going on, Obito was suddenly sure of a couple of things.

One, this was his brain and he was not in control. Two, he – or rather his body – was alive. Three, someone else was in control. Four, the presence was heading this way. Five, he was going to get some questions answered. Six, Obito was not happy.

With those things in mind, Obito growled out and took off running.

~ Naruto ~

"So, Obito-kun. Did you have any nice dreams lately?"

Naruto smiled rather sheepishly at the form of Uchiha Obito in front of him. His skin did not have any markings of being nearly crushed like Naruto's mental form had adapted during his Minato's visit. Interesting.

"Wha...?" The thirteen year old figure muttered in front of him, caught off guard by his odd and rather calm reaction. Using the chance that he had, Naruto tried to slip past Obito's form, having had enough of being trapped against a tree. Naruto hoped that he would be able to pull Obito's hands away from his collar, but unfortunately for the ninja, Obito's mind caught up before Naruto got out of Obito's hold.

Shaking Naruto's collar for emphasis, Obito got right back on track.

"Shut up! Who the hell are you?" He demanded, causing Naruto to put his hands up in surrender.

'Sheesh, he is impatient.' Naruto thought. "Calm down, kid." He tried to shush him, knowing that he would need the kid to think a little more reasonably in order to understand Naruto's explanation of their current situation. After all, said situation was a little… unusual.

'Freaking unbelievable you mean.' He thought to himself as he sweat dropped. 'How on earth am I going to explain this?'

He really should have planned ahead for this moment.

'Ah well, I guess I will just have to calm him down first and then tell my story and look where it goes…' Naruto decided.

However, looking at the state that the black-haired child was in -

"Shut up and tell me who you are!" The child in front of him growled at him, sounding more dangerous this time. His head turned to the side ever so slightly and a lock of black hair fell away from the boy's face, which had previously hidden the activated sharingan in his left eye.

'Activated sharingan equels anger. Wait a minute-'

Naruto frowned when his eyes focused on the child's left eye. 'Obito still has both eyes?' Naruto's eyes widened in surprise.

"Uzumaki Naruto, at your service." The ninja calmly stated while he pondered about this odd revelation.

"Why do you look like me?" Came the next question.

'Huh?' Naruto blinked in surprise and his eyes shifted up, only to realize that the boy was right. The spiky hair that fell just over his eyes was not his usual blond.

'What? But I can't change my real look right?'

"That's not my real appearance." He tried to explain only for the kid to look even more distrusting. Naruto waved his hands in defense. "No, no! You don't understand."

Oh how was he going to do this? Naruto frowned as he thought back to his own temper when he was thirteen. 'Yeah I wasn't that easy to calm down then either.' He decided.

"Then explain…" The boy suddenly gagged and collapsed. Naruto was just in time to catch the boy and lower him to the ground.

"Whoa! Calm down kid!" Naruto exclaimed, surprised by the sudden collapse. "Are you alright?"

"Nar-Naruto." The boy gasped, his hands reaching for his head. "Why do I suddenly have this memory that is not mine?"

"What? Well I have a couple of your memories too…" Naruto explained, but it did not have the right effect.

"What? Are you a mind-reader? Get out of here! Brain, get him out!" Obito cried, pushing him away.

"Calm down kid!"

It was not working. For some reason, Obito was not in control of his mind.

"Why don't you get out of my mind?" He exclaimed in panic, his eyes wide as he looked at Naruto in mistrust.

"Well that's because I'm kind of in control of your mind since you di…"

"WHAT? No! Get out!" Obito managed to get away from Naruto's hold this time and backed away from him.

"Look Obito! I'm not here to scare you or to take over! I simply want you to calm down for a moment so we can talk."

Obito was not calming down and Naruto's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"Itai!" The ninja stopped his rambling when Naruto bonked him on the head and stiffened when he saw Naruto glare down at him. Naruto blinked and glanced at his clothes when he noticed that his clothes had shifted back to the outfit Naruto used to wear as the Toad Sage.

'So my memories trigger my appearance and Obito's own memories?' The mechanism behind it puzzled him slightly and Naruto scratched the back of his head in confusion.

At this familiar gesture, Obito stared at him with big eyes. This picture suddenly looked very familiar to him.

His eyes glazed over ever so slightly, just as Naruto tried to get the kid's attention.

"Obito, pay attention!"

"Hai, sensei!" Obito snapped out hastily, as one of his memories momentarily overlapped with one of his training sessions.

They both stilled and stared at each other.

"You are not Minato-sensei." Obito slowly stated, realizing that though the stranger looked familiar, he did not look like his sensei that much.

The ninja in front of him sighed. "No I'm not. Listen, it is a very long story and I prefer to tell it only once alright?"

Obito nodded numbly as he waited for the blond to sit down cross-legged in front of him.

"Well, to tell the truth, my story starts a few months from now…"

"In the _future_?" Obito exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yes! Please don't interrupt me! Now as I was say…"

"You are from the future?" Judging from the Uchiha's look, the kid didn't believe him one tiny bit.

"Yes, now shut up and pay attention! You can complain later!" Naruto growled at him.

Obito glared at him but followed his order.

"So, as I was saying-"

This was going to take a while.

~ Later~

Naruto waited patiently for Obito's eyes to become unglazed.

It didn't take much to figure out that once memories were triggered from hearing Naruto's story, some of them would be experienced by Obito, much like had happened when Naruto had first stepped into Obito's mind.

"Wow." Obito breathed as the memory faded.

"So that was how you took down Madara?" He asked and Naruto nodded in confirmation.

"He was very strong. I nearly lost." Naruto shivered at the memory.

"You know… you are kind of cool. It is odd but I feel like I can trust you completely." Obito admitted a little uncomfortably.

"Thanks" Naruto grinned slightly at the compliment and completely understood what Obito was saying. It was odd for a ninja to trust another so much in such a short time, but he couldn't help but feel the same. "I feel absolutely the same, Obito." He said, smiling brightly.

"I admire your strength very much." Naruto continued, causing the boy in front of him to flush in embarrassment. "My sensei would have died if it was not for you."

"I would be dead without you…." Obito objected. "That's far more important."

"Don't think that way." Naruto snapped at him, causing the boy to flinch. "Every small thing counts, remember that. That is why I am doing this. I know that this may be hard for you, seeing as this is your body, but please." Naruto actually bowed down to the boy in front of him, his legs still crossed and his hands resting on his knees. "Let me change the future. I…" He couldn't help but swallow as heavy emotions hit him. "I _need_ to change it.

Obito stared at him in surprise and was about to pull him up when the emotions hit him as well. Tears started forming in his eyes and he quickly rubbed them away with his sleeve, glad that the ninja in front of him couldn't see them.

"Well." He said, clearing his voice. "I would love to help you." He said, his voice determined.

Naruto rose up, his eyes teary as well, but they didn't fall down. "Thank you very much. I will make sure to keep everyone as safe as possible."

'_Because I can't guarantee your safety._' was left unspoken, but Obito was aware of the dangers anyway.

The Uchiha in front of him nodded seriously at him, before a spark suddenly appeared in his eyes.

"Does that mean that you can train me after this whole thing?"

"Su- Wait what?"

"I mean you must be super strong! How else did you get so strong to take down Madara?"

"Well, I did have a little bit of help…" Naruto smiled sheepishly.

"**A little? You ungrateful brat! You nearly killed me by drawing so much chakra from me."** The rumble caught both the figures off guard for a moment.

Naruto relaxed quite quickly, but Obito staid frozen where he was, staring with wide eyes into the direction where the voice came from.

"Is that the demon fox?" He whispered to Naruto, who he had slowly come to trust. He might not be sure what to make of his current situation, but he did feel like Naruto was far easier to trust than a demon of all things.

"Yes that is the Furball alright." Naruto agreed with him, smiling as he got back to his feet.

"**You insolent whelp! I will think twice about helping you out next time!"** Kyuubi growled.

Grinning, Naruto pulled the shocked Obito up. 'Did you just call him _Furball_?' His eyes seemed to ask as Naruto pulled him along to meet the fox.

"Shut it Kyuu! It's not like I haven't saved your sorry ass a couple of times as well! Remember that spell that Madara managed to put you under? You would have been a goner and he would have had all your chakra for himself if I hadn't managed to stop him."

"**Well you nearly ****weren't able to do anything****! Besides, I would have gotten out of that myself a few seconds later!"** The fox defended himself.

"Sure you did, Fuzzy." Naruto agreed sarcastically.

"**It happened only once as well, Whisker-brat."**

Obito seemed very nervous as he realized that they were actually moving _towards_ the booming voice. He tried to tug himself free, but Naruto's hold was firm. Naruto, realizing that the boy was reluctant to meet the demon, sent him a reassuring grin.

He didn't realize that the grin was very familiar to Minato's, which seemed to calm the boy ever so slightly.

"That is because I put that damn seal in to make sure that no-one could invade my brain and disturb your beauty-sleep, oh Mighty Nine-tails."

"**Don't tell me that I need to remind you of all the times that I managed to safe your sorry ass with my healing."**

"Well, you wouldn't want to die would you? It is not that you do it for my own well-being." Naruto called back and seemed not to feel bothered about this fact at all.

"**And you know it brat!"**

Naruto stopped just in front of the row of trees that held the demon fox away from the rest of the brain. The appearance of the fox was safely hidden in the shadows though.

"Nice to _hear_ that you are awake once again, Kyuubi." The blond grinned at the fox.

"**Well, ****judging from**** your appearance, you could use some actual sleep as well brat. Though this damn Uchiha...**" – Obito flinched at the demon's nasty tone - **"…has been sleeping enough."**

"Don't talk about appearances Kyuubi. Or would you prefer to come out of hiding so that we can talk face to face?"

**"I have absolutely no desire to take one step closer to that ugly nasty Uchiha-brat, even if his chakra is about the opposite from Madara's evil chakra. I might not be able to contain my urge to grab him and to eat him piece by piece."** Obito shivered and carefully tried to take a step away from the shadows, but Naruto put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"Aw, be polite Kyuubi! I still rule this mind." He reminded the fox, a dangerous glint in his eyes."Don't worry brat, he's a little _sore_ spot when it comes to you clan."

Kyuubi only growled in reply.

"About that." Obito suddenly cut in as he was reminded of this fact. "Why are you in control? This is my mind? Surely I will get back control of my own mind, right?"

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"**He got you there Gaki!" **

"Shut it, Kyuubi!" Naruto grumbled and turned to the Uchiha, who twitched in discomfort.

Naruto sighed. "Well you are right of course, but since you lost connection with your mind, I have taken your brain over for now. I will gladly give it back eventually, but I still need to stop the other Kyuubi from attacking." Obito slowly nodded at the explanation.

"How are you going to do that?"

Naruto's face turned very pensive, his eyebrows furrowed and eyes glazed.

His lips parted slightly and he took a deep breath to answer, catching both the attention of the demon fox – who doubted that the brat could come up with anything useful – and the eagerly awaiting Obito.

"..I have absolutely no idea yet."

Obito sweat-dropped while the demon rolled his eyes.

"**Figures."**

"Well that's…"

"…troublesome." Naruto and Obito both said at the same time, each borrowing the words from two different – but related – people.

They chuckled before they turned serious again.

"**How****ever**** lovely this emotional bonding is, I need to talk about our future deaths." **The fox's tone was as plain as it could get.

"Your what?" Obito exclaimed turning to Naruto. "He is serious?"

"Well, since I have to be born and I have this spiritual DNA or something like that." He heard the Kyuubi sigh in annoyance at his rough explanation. "My soul is destined to enter my baby's form at birth. Which is why I will either die and be reborn, die and actually disappear, or roam around the world forever. Other possibilities include that I will be pulled towards the body and will be reborn with my memories intact."

Obito blinked.

"So there can't be two of you." He tried to summarize.

"**Yes." **

"Yes." Naruto and Kyuubi confirmed at the same time.

"**Actually Brat. I have been thinking about it and I might have a solution." **

Naruto turned towards the fox, his eyes wide in hope. "Yes Kyuubi?"

"Why do you think that I have not disappeared yet? Even though there is another Kyuubi out there?"

"Err…" Naruto frowned.

"Are you sealed to his soul?" Obito cut in, clearly not sure of his answer.

"**Well, well, well. The Uchiha is not as much as a dimwit as I believed him to be. Much better than a certain blond-hai…"**

"Hey" Naruto cut out in objection.

"…**That can't even tell the difference between spilled milk ****and**** fresh milk…"**

"That only happened once!"

"…**even with the extra senses that my presence had gifted him with."**

"I was twelve!"

Obito coughed in an attempt to break up the argument. "I have simply been trying to learn some seals that Minato-sensei showed me."

'To impress Rin.' Naruto thought in amusement as he remembered a certain memory that he had received. Obito didn't say anything but his face told the teen enough.

"**Indeed. In a way, sealing causes a small part of the soul to merge with the other. Thus, being bound to Naruto's soul has altered my own ever so slightly. ****This**** merged part could be separated if I ****was**** released, which would **_**still**_** be the best approach to take in order to stop Madara**." He pointedly reminded Naruto. **"As long as I am bound, it allows me to co-exist with ****the**** other me and it keeps us separated." **

"So I have to be sealed?" Naruto questioned, clearly feeling very uncomfortable about this solution.

"Well, it will be more difficult. Seeing you have a human soul, it is more difficult since you mortals are so fragile."

Both 'mortals' glared at the comment.

"This means that you can only be merged with some-one that has a similar soul-frequency. However, judging from your character and the energy that you carry, that shouldn't be a problem."

Both ninja stared blankly at him again.

Letting out a deep sigh, Kyuubi continued with his explanation. **"The reason why we ended up in that Uchiha-brat's body-"** Obito's eye twitched in annoyance of being ignored**. "…is because your soul's – let's call it a color so your brain can follow– is very familiar to the brat's. I would nearly swear that you could have been reborn as the other."** The fox muttered the last part thoughtfully.

The two stared at each other in surprise.

"Well, your presence did feel familiar." Naruto acknowledged, his eyes showing just how much he was freaking out from all the information.

"Same here." Obito confirmed, though he seemed just as spooked out as Naruto.

"It is as if… I should know nearly everything about you." They both chorused.

"That's creepy." They said at the same time once more.

They stared at each other for a moment as Kyuubi let out an amused chuckle.

**"Well brats. You seem to be a match, congratulations."** The fox stated as he drew closer to the trees to get a better look at the faces of the two mortals. The Kyuubi had not grown much at all, which worried Naruto ever so slightly. 'I will have to ask later on.' He decided.

Meanwhile, Naruto glared at the fox in annoyance, while Obito's eyes widened in surprise.

"What? It is just the fox."

"It's not that… I just…"

"What?"

"…Thought he would be a bit… more intimidating."

Kyuubi snarled at the Uchiha, causing the young teenager to retreat a couple of steps, while Naruto started laughing rather loudly.

**"You little insolent freaky-red-eyed Uchiha! I am the Great Magnificent-"** The fox started his rant.

Obito stared with big eyes at the fox as Naruto wiped away a tear from his eye.

"I'm glad I have some more company Obito. Welcome back!" He said, slapping the young teenager on the back. Obito shot him a nervous and sheepish smile, not sure if the fox would become even angrier if he were to slip away during his rant.

Just before he could make a decision, he tensed.

Naruto felt dizziness hit him and he sat down on his knees. "Whoa, I don't feel good all of sudden."

"I'm feeling a pull." Obito whispered.

"Someone is trying to wake you up." The fox muttered, pausing in the midst of his rant.

"Then why am I not waking up? I'm in charge!" Naruto exclaimed up. 'I am right?'

"**It seems that this is not the case anymore brat! You might have the most control over the body, but the brat still is the creator of this mind. That does not mean that he will be of much use though. He might be able to wake up, but he will be unable to move any body parts yet. He has as much control as a baby right now." **

"But…"

"I'm fading away!" Obito exclaimed, suddenly afraid of what would happen after he heard what Kyuubi had to say.

Naruto, seeing the fear in the boy's eyes placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I am unsure how much you will be able to do, but just enjoy the moment that you have alright? We will fix this later."

"I will keep silent about what happened."

Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment before his eyes widened and he smiled. "Actually, if they press you and you are able to explain anything at all. You can tell them about me. Make sure to remain vague though. Oh and don't tell them about my true identity and my 'future's past.' I'm just another part of you." Naruto stated seriously, his appearance shifting into a slightly older Obito with the scars intact.

Obito stared at the scars for a moment, before nodding.

"That's how I look, isn't it?" He managed to ask just before he was pulled away.

Naruto watched the empty spot sadly, before turning to the fox.

"So what is it that you do the whole time when I'm gone?"

The fox grinned at him.** "Well, well, well. Now it is your turn to realize just how frustrating it is to be locked away in someone's mind."** The fox stated with a lot of amusement, before he turned away to walk back into the darkness.

"Hey Furball! You never answered my question!" Naruto exclaimed, shaking his fist at the retreating figure of the fox.

Naruto didn't get any response. "Stupid furball." Naruto grumbled under his breath as he turned around.

His eyes looked over all the trees that surrounded him. Kicking up some sand, he couldn't help but feel dread hover over him. He was going to get so bored.

'Wait a minute. How does the fox know what is going on when he is in my mind?'

His eyes narrowed at the sudden inspiration. Whatever happened, he was going to find out sooner or later.

With that new goal, Naruto set off, wondering if he should be searching for some kind of television or something completely different.

~Back to Reality with Minato~

Minato hummed as he impatiently waited for his ramen to be ready.

He was somewhat amused by the fact that Kakashi was acting so grumpy around him.

It seemed that his student had not appreciated the way that he had let Kakashi find out the truth of their 'new teammate's' identity. Honestly, Minato could understand that Kakashi would have preferred to keep his emotions hidden, but the boy had needed it. One day, Kakashi would thank him.

Counting down the time in his head, Minato grabbed his chopsticks to start eating his dinner. It had been a very long day and he was hungry. Ramen would be able to give him an extra boost today. After dinner he would be able to check up on the mission statuses, then meet with the Hokage, check up on Obito, train with the team. Then train himself to stay fit. Meet once more with the Hokage and check up on Obito once more. Hopefully Kushina would be back by then and they could go out to dinner. After that, he would be able to check up on Obito once more and try to talk to him about what would have happened.

Nodding to himself, he opened his mouth to take his the first bite of that heavily delicious Rame-

"Sensei! Something is wrong!" Minato immediately turned his attention to his oldest student that came running towards him. His chopsticks froze and his mouth shut closed. With an absent regretful thought, he put his chopsticks down and stood up.

"What is wrong?" He quickly asked as he followed the teenager to the other room of his house.

"He is waking up, but he is not reacting like he should." Kakashi explained, desperately trying to remain calm, but Minato easily caught the unease and worry in his voice.

As they entered the room, Minato spotted Rin hovering over Obito, her hands glowing as she diagnosed his health.

"I can't find anything wrong with him." She said worriedly.

'I need to calm them down somewhat.'

"Wake up Obito-kun!" Minato tried to exclaim cheerfully as he ignored the glares that Kakashi and Rin shot him.

"Obito-kun!" He sang out once more as he saw the teenager stir in acknowledgement.

The team stood next to the bed that stood in Minato's guest room. It was not the first time that someone of the team crashed there after a long and difficult training, but this occasion was pretty special.

"Is he alright, Sensei?" Rin called out, looking very worried. "He is waking up too slowly." She explained.

Minato frowned, realizing that she was right. Kakashi, who was standing right next Obito's head, frowned. His hand twitched in an urge to shake the boy's shoulder, but he knew better. Ninja were very dangerous to wake up by shaking. Minato was glad that he let him in charge.

"Obito!" Minato called out a little more firmly.

"Hmm…" Came the acknowledgement as Obito's eye finally opened.

All the ninja tensed as they noticed the glazed look in the eye. This was not good.

"Se-se"

Even his speaking abilities were decreased, judging from the way that Obito tried to move his mouth. The eyes suddenly became more alert and became more scared. His eyes shifted over his surrounding far too quickly to be calm. Once they caught sight of him though, they calmed ever so slightly.

"Obito. Please move your arm." Minato called out carefully, his own nerves rising.

'Why? Why can't this be easy?' He couldn't help but bemoan. The boy didn't deserve this.

"Waswh." The sound was much like a baby's babbling. The arm moved ever so slightly, but it was too slow. It was too heavy and too uncoordinated.

"Rin, please go and see if Inoichi is home right now. He should be in the village. Kakashi, please inform the Hokage of the current situation. I will not be able to meet him right now." He ordered quickly.

The two ninja reluctantly retreated, preferring to stay with Obito as well, but knowing better than to ignore the orders from their sensei.

"Hai sensei." They chorused as they both rushed off to their own mission.

Letting out a deep sigh, Minato turned to Obito and smiled in a reassuring way.

"Don't worry, Obito. We will figure out what is wrong, alright? In the meantime, I want you to try and answer a couple of my questions alright?"

Minato couldn't help but feel slightly relieved when Obito made a barely-unnoticeable nod.

Every small things of response counts. Since in these difficult kind of situations, it could make the difference of being a hopeful case or being a hopeless one. And there was no way that the Yellow Flash of Konoha, would accept with the latter from becoming the truth.

**~End Chapter ~**


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary****: **Naruto does not have gotten the reputation of being the most surprising ninja for nothing. To keep up this reputation, the blond often lands himself in unusual situations that ask for the most unusual solutions. However, caught in a clash of jutsu while fighting Madara to the bitter end, and waking up in Obito's body buried under piles of stones was not something even Naruto thought possible. How will Naruto take care of the upcoming threat of Akatsuki and Madara in a past he does not know, while starting a new legend for Uchiha Obito? How will he use this second chance?

**Beta: Beloved Daughter. **Thanks a lot Beloved Beta ;)

Hello-hello my hopefully still faithful readers! I will try to cut my usual rumble short this time, seeing as you probably just want to get on with it. Still I want to thank you for your wonderful support which caused me to write this while I actually should have been doing an assignment… woops.

Chapter 10 already! I'm surprised with how quickly it is going! That reminds me! A happy 2012! Do you guys have any wishes or resolves? My wish is to hit the 1k reviews mark with one of my stories, since it would mean that a lot of people managed to enjoy my stories and that would one of my biggest goals. Anyway back on track!

Enjoy!

**Chapter 10: Weighing Options**

"How is he?"

Minato didn't even start as Rin and Inoichi practically flew into the room-albeit in a more controlled-ninja like manner. He was too focused on worrying about the eye of his student which seemed to become more unfocused by the minute. Even calling out to him or waving his hand in front of Obito's eye hadn't alerted the teenager, which caused a sudden nervous feeling to puddle in the blond's chest.

"Physically, he is fine. He is breathing normally and his heart-rate has calmed down." Minato's lips thinned as he continued. "However, his responses have decreased dramatically. He has not said anything since then, doesn't respond to his own name or visible movement and I'm unsure how aware he is."

During the explanation, it hadn't taken Inoichi long to notice the Obito's unfocused eye and walked over before putting his hand on the boy's forehead to give him a quick scan. Minato paused for a moment and sighed heavily when the Yamanaka shook his head negatively. "I can't read him properly right now. It feels as if he's starting to sink into a coma. We have to move quickly but there is too much chaos to do anything drastic without an examination first."

A coma. Rin's hands flew up to her mouth in fear for her teammate.

The future Hokage froze momentarily before closing his eyes for a moment to center his thoughts again. He looked up to his friend, gave him a solemn nod and started to share his observations during the short time that the other's had been gone.

"…his body started wiggling uncomfortably. I tried to calm him down but only patting his shoulder or stoking his head and calmly talking to him seemed to work properly. Furthermore, his movements and manner..."

He paused momentarily when he felt a familiar chakra spike in a manner that let him know that his last student would arrive in a second. He was right, as not even half a second later, his silver-haired student reappeared with the Sandaime at his side. "Hokage-sama." Both men called out respectfully.

"I heard there has been a development?" The man stated. He looked as calm and controlled as he ever was, complete with the pipe in his hands, but Minato could see the heaviness in the eyes of the man. He had a soft spot for children like Obito – troublemaker that the boy was.

Minato quickly summarized what had occurred while Inoichi made another scan of the teenager's mental activity.

"It is as if he is a baby." Minato confirmed as his eyes flickered to the blond standing right next to him as Minato ran his hand through Obito's hair, trying to calm him.

Kakashi's hands clenched ever so slightly, but he found himself pulled away by Rin, who decided it was better to give the older men some space. Kakashi protested at first and tried to pull away, but she sent him a look which made him comply reluctantly. 'They will tell us when they need us' she tried to say to him with her eyes and he gave a short nod, before his eyes turned back to the paralyzed figure of his troublesome friend.

'Why can't it ever be easy with you Obito?' He couldn't help but wonder, his teeth clenching.

"His mental activity just increased. That's good." Inoichi called out and waved for Rin to come closer. "Rin-chan, are you able to keep his brain stable with your chakra?"

"Hai." The girl stated with a nod and stepped around the man to take a place at the other end of the bed before she placed two hands on the side of Obito's head.

Kakashi couldn't help but despise how useless he currently felt. He was momentarily urged to stand closer to his teammate, but squished that feeling. He had to face the painful fact as it was.

In this current situation, he was pathetically useless.

~Obito~

How he hated to be in this situation.

The moment that he had realized that he was not in control of his body, he had tried to get control back. However, instead of regaining control, the Uchiha lost track of what was going on around him. Everything seemed fuzzy for a while. He had panicked of course, but had calmed when he heard the voice of his sensei talk to him in a rather comforting manner. The hair stroking felt strangely nice as well.

Not that the Uchiha would ever admit that to anyone.

After a while of trying to focus, he found himself aware once again. At first, his eye fixated on the blond hair that he had been staring at most of the time without fully realizing it. He couldn't help but feel comforted that he was back to reality again, which was why he constantly fought the pull that would surely make him loose control again.

'No way am I going back to that fuzziness.' Obito thought stubbornly as he struggled to remain where he was mentally.

"It is as if he is a baby." He heard his sensei tell the others and mentally twitched in annoyance.

"Bwah." Obito tried to protest, but failed miserably. His face scrunched up when he seemed to notice that, instead of defending himself, he had actually just confirmed his sensei's statement. He moved his legs again, without even bothering to try to control them this time. The frustration built up inside of him, making his restless and he had to move. Unfortunately, the teen's limbs seemed unable to make anything but random movements. It took a lot of effort and control to direct them even a little bit and he would not risk another trip back to the fuzzy awareness.

Mentally, Obito felt helpless. 'Why is Naruto not in control?'

He couldn't help but feel relieved as he felt Rin's familiar caress touch the sides of his face and shiver as he felt her chakra try to stabilize his… situation. He felt his panic fade away as the pull that he had been fighting also vanished.

It came at a price however, since once stable, the chaotic emotions that coursing through his mind got the opportunity to show their presence.

"He is stable." He heard the Yamanaka speak up as he removed his hand and moved to stand next to the Sandaime. "He should be unresponsive for only a little longer. However, his control over his emotions is fading as well." Inoichi continued as Obito once again became aware of what they were saying. He could even clearly notice the tone of worry in the ninja's voice that should be barely noticeable.

'Don't let the emotions get the better of you.' Obito tried to tell himself, but it wasn't working.

'_Don't be such a cry-baby.'_ His eyes flickered to his silver-haired teammate as he suddenly remembered the origin of that particular sentence.

Damn it. He could feel the wave of tears coming, slowly but steadily building up right behind his eye. He closed his eye quickly, as if it would prevent the tears from escaping.

He could practically feel Minato frown at him as his sensei surely spotted the tears forming in the edge of Obito's eye before they ran down his cheeks. Obito felt his sensei's hand – the hand which had been stroking Obito's hair in a comforting motion - smoothly move to his cheek to wipe away the tears from his eye.

'I can't even say that I have something in his eye.' He thought, opening his eyes slightly but refusing to make eye contact in the embarrassing situation he was in.

Damn it.

Obito's eye flickered to Minato's and the boy's face scrunched up even more. To those outside of Obito's mind, it looked as if he was trying to keep himself from letting go of his emotions.

"Obito-kun." Minato slowly stated. "It's alright. Just calm down."

That was easy for him to say!

Obito felt like yelling at his sensei. He felt like crying. He felt like thrashing and beating something up. He felt desperate to _move_, but he couldn't. He only could wiggle around uncomfortably in the bed in an effort to get control back over his body while trying not to sink back down in that dark space.

'What if that is how to get back to Naruto?' He suddenly wondered. 'Should I allow myself to go back down?'

"He keeps crying." The worried voice of his teammate spoke up which made Inoichi pause his conversation with the Hokage. Nodding at him, the Sandaime sent Inoichi back to his task of watching over Obito's mental activities, having been satisfied with having his most important questions answered for now.

Obito saw Inoichi shake his head as he crouched down next to the bed once more, right next to his sensei near Obito's head. His eyes followed the movement carefully.

"He can't help it. Somehow it seems as if his mind has degraded to the mind of a baby. He is unable to respond like he should. Whatever is going on with him mentally, I'm afraid there might be a chance that it could become irreversible." Inoichi stated, leaning forward to take a good look at the boy's eye. Obito however was too focused on the caresses of Rin's hands to care.

For some reason, it was Rin's touch that made him realize that he was _alive_.

He wanted to savour this moment.

Obito was only absently aware of what Inoichi was saying, before he understood what it meant. The man clearly didn't even try to evade the uncomfortable possible outcome. They deserved to know what their teammate was going through as they would be the ones taking care of Obito.

'What the hell are they talking about?' Obito couldn't help but think. 'Am I going to be like this forever? What?' Obito suddenly felt overwhelmed by the nerves that hit him. His eye flickered around him, searching support. Eventually he locked his gaze with Kakashi's eye, who was staring at him with a look in his eye that Obito couldn't describe.

"Inoichi-kun, do you think he is gone too far…?" The Sandaime asked from where he stood at the end of the bed.

"He's not a baby. He is watching us." Kakashi protested from his corner, still staring at his teammate.

Had it been any other situation anyone would have been surprised that the young ninja would even dare to interrupt the Hokage. If Obito had the opportunity he would surely have made a big fuss to annoy his teammate, but he couldn't.

"A baby follows movements as well. It is human instinct." Inoichi explained but he did look at Obito's eyes closely once more and immediately noted the change in focus when Obito locked his eye on him.

"His eye is focused once more." He told the rest. Obito couldn't help but feel slightly warm and fuzzy at the relief that everyone showed.

"Kakashi-kun is right. He seems to be watching everything _very_ clearly." The ninja agreed slowly and his eyes sharpened. "His eye is sharp and aware. That means that this could be fixed."

Obito couldn't help but keep an odd laugh escape his lips. It sounded so much like a baby's giggle which caused him to feel his cheeks heat up not soon after.

"Would you please stop using your chakra to booster Obito's mind, Rin-chan?"

The girl followed his instruction reluctantly and Obito couldn't help but frown as her hands pulled away, preparing himself to fight against the pull once more. He didn't feel any change in alertness though, which calmed his fears.

"He is stable without support?" His sensei's tone was hopeful.

"Indeed. Very interesting." Came the amused tone from the Yamakana as he held up a finger in front of the boy's eye. "If you are indeed as aware as I think you are, then your thinking process might even be at the normal capacity. I will have to run a few tests Obito-kun. Please, follow the movement of my finger."

Obito obediently played along and followed the finger wherever he could. After a while, he gave Inoichi a pointed look when the man - deliberatly - moved his hand beyond his angle of sight.

'That's just mean.' Obito told him mentally, but Inoichi merely smiled at his expression.

"That's good."

The man placed his hand back on the his forehead, and Obito felt the man's chakra tickle his skin ever so slightly. Though it didn't feel as nice as Rin's chakra had felt. "Obito, I want you to blink five times if you understand me."

Obito blinked five times.

Inoichi nodded before he gave another order. "Blink two times. Then close your eye for five second, blink three times and then look your sensei in the eyes."

'What the hell is he trying to pull? Does he think I will forget or something?" Obito thought in annoyance but he started following the orders anyway. After having blinked the final three times his eye locked with Minato's, who smiled at him. "That's good."

"Indeed." Inoichi agreed. "Your thoughts are clear…" He trailed off and turned towards Minato as he pulled his hand back. "I have never seen something like this before."

There was a slight pause as everyone allowed the situation to catch up to them.

"So what do you advice Inoichi-kun?" The Sandaime inquired, knowing very well that this was the man's field of knowledge.

"The activity in his mind has calmed down. We will have to visit his mind again. He has to switch back. Whatever is going on, he is helpless like this. He has to regain control over his body."

"What do you mean?" Rin couldn't help but ask.

"I suspect that the original Obito has woken up and is not in control as much we had hoped." Inoichi shared his theory carefully before he turned his attention back to the teenager on the bed. "Obito-kun, have you noticed anything strange before you woke up? Blink three times for yes and close your eye for no."

Obito blinked three times.

"Were you in some kind of forest before you woke up here?"

He blinked three times.

"Was it your mindscape?"

Obito made sure to frown at the tricky question before he gave the man three reluctant blinks.

"Was someone in your mind?" The tone got more careful, Obito noted.

_Yes._

"Did he look like you?'

Still not lying, Obito reminded himself as he blinked three times once again.

"Did he tell you anything?"

There was a long pause as he stared at his questioner. Said ninja noticed his dubious look and decided to take another approach.

"Did he tell you what happened when you were gone?"

Yes.

"Did he tell you anything about himself? Anything odd?"

There was a slight – just a slight pause of reluctance – before Obito firmly shut his eye. 'Even if I have to lie to them… this is for the best.'

"We are going back into your mind." Came the sudden statement as he felt himself being pulled up by a couple of hands. He cried out in protest but they ignored him and pushed him into sitting position to lean against Minato, who had moved to sit behind him so he could be held up.

Rin was kind enough to put some cushions behind him and Kakashi settled next to him on the bed to help keep him in place should he start to move around like a child. Obito firmly told himself that Kakashi's hand on his shoulder was just something to restrain him and not because Kakashi would become overly worried about him.

Because that would be really annoying. He did not want his teammates to hover over him with every move he made.

'Kakashi is acting strange enough as it is.' Indeed. Obito couldn't help but notice the way that Kakashi kept sending him concerned and odd glances. 'Actually, they are all acting like I'm going to die any moment.'

"Everyone ready?" The mind-reader inquired as he started his jutsu.

Obito prayed that this would work out as it should. 'Naruto! Naruto?' He cried out mentally. 'I have absolutely no clue if you can hear me but they are coming, so maybe it is better if yo…"

He felt a familiar hand appear on top his head and in a swirling sensation he was pulled back into the darkness.

~Naruto~

Hovering over the odd pond - somehow he could see what happened as if he were looking out of his own eye - that he had suddenly managed to conjure out of nowhere in one of the training field, Naruto couldn't help but shake his head at the mess that they had gotten into.

'Something tells me that they will keep hovering around me for a long time.'

He sighed heavily.

"This sucks." He flopped back down in the grass and put an arm over his eyes and groaned. "How will I ever be able to beat that Madara-bastard?" He cried out in frustration, his anger leaking through. Clenching his fist, he peeked from under his arm up to the stars that were always there, urging them to provide him some inspiration.

"How the hell will I be able to become strong enough in such short amount of time? That should take years of training! I don't have that! There is no way that I can put years of training in a shorter amount of ti…"

His eyes widened as a thought suddenly struck him.

"Of course!" He flew up into sitting position as he cried out.

How the hell could he forget his own favorite jutsu?

"I need my chakra."

Yes, finding his chakra was the key. However, he would first have to seal himself in this mind if he was going to release it. After all, if his theory was right, he was connected to the chakra and if the chakra somehow managed to leave the body, there might be a chance that he would go along with it.

'No can do.' He quickly got back to his feet. 'I will need to do this as quickly as possible.'

So he would only have to wait for this whole ruckus to get over with, for Obito to get back, before starting with the seal. He quickly leaned back over to the pond to see what he had missed during his unexpected enlightenment.

"Naruto! Naruto?" Obito's voice echoed oddly through the clearing. "I have absolutely no clue if you can hear me but they are coming, so maybe it is better if yo…"

Though he was still startled, Naruto somehow wasn't surprised that he was blown of his feet as something suddenly collided into his back. His luck had taken a turn for the worst ever since he got to the past after all.

That didn't stop him from being surprised by the direction which Obito came from, since it forced them to land right into the water. He had barely the time to remember some of the memories he had as being Obito before the two presences that had tagged along with Obito arrived as well.

Coughing loudly, Naruto broke to the surface of the water, having morphed into Obito's mirroring image with the scars once more.

"Urgh, what the hell?" He complained as he pushed away from the younger scar-less boy. "You really don't have to keep attacking me like that you know."

His current twin groaned in protest and gave him a little push of his own. "It's not my fault that you keep getting in my way."

Both Obito's glared at each other as they got out of the water, not even noticing that their shared mindscape was allowing them to dry within seconds.

"Tch. It's not like I'm getting in the way of anything important." Naruto had to repress the amused smirk that dared to slip on his lips.

"Are you implying that I'm not important?" The younger Obito growled slightly, but Naruto could see the playful glint in his eye.

The time-traveler carefully tapped his chin with his finger, looking up thoughtfully. "Well those are your words, not mine Not that I dare to disagree with you thou-."

There was only a short cry to warn him before he was tackled. Laughing softly, he rolled along with the tackle and tried to subdue Obito. Obito, having immediately noted the challenge, played along with much enthusiasm.

As they rolled over the ground, Naruto couldn't help but notice the comical expressions of his future father and Inoichi. Wrestling playfully in a ninja-like fashion – which would look like really mean and painful to normal citizens – they continued to try to over-power each other. With a final growl Naruto twisted Obito's arm behind him and made sure that he was unable to move.

"Give up yet?" He asked with a smirk, knowing that he had him.

"No way!"

Before Naruto could give a playful pull to make him reconsider, a hand grasped the back on his collar and he was suddenly pulled rather roughly away from the younger teen.

"Stop that."

"What?" The scarred-ninja questioned defensively, struggling momentarily against the man's grip, not realizing what the problem was. He stared in bewilderment at his father who had just stepped between the two Obito's. Obito, who at first matched his expression, could help but smirk at him.

"Ha!" He called out smugly. "Yeah stop that." He mocked Naruto with a smirk.

"Tch, hiding behind your sensei, how brave of you." Obito scowled slightly at that reply.

"I would have gotten you back anyway."

"Oh really? I don't thi…"

A tug on his collar cut him off as Minato interrupted him. "Obito-kun." The tone was serious and caught both their attention without much effort. Naruto didn't even pause to react to the name and copied Obito's reaction to 'his' name being called.

"Yes?" They echoed.

The two blonds that were studying them carefully seemed to be slightly caught off guard at their behavior.

"Stop fighting. We are here to help you." Inoichi agreed with Minato.

"Help with what?" Naruto questioned, playing his role as the confused and more cautious counterpart effortlessly.

There was a brief silence before Inoichi spoke up again. "You do realize that it is not… normal to have two personalities in a mind, don't you?"

Both Obito's shared a look – knowing very well that there was also a certain furry presence in this mind without the other two knowing. "Not really I guess." Obito agreed and Naruto nodded slowly, before glaring at the two.

Naruto was the one with the scars, so it would be his role to become the more wary of the two. It would only be natural, since 'the scarred Obito' did not have the close bonds of trust that Obito had developed over the years.

With his extra life-experience, it would not be difficult for the time-traveler to act like that anyway. However surprising it may sound, Naruto might act like a naïve fool a lot, but he was very much aware of the dark and cruel world out there. Hopefully this would make ninja like Minato a bit less suspicion if he were to act differently than Obito would have, chalking it up to his wariness.

"Why does that matter? What the hell do you want from us?" Naruto decided to get straight to the point.

He tried not to react to the frown that appeared on his father's face.

"Obito-kun…" He carefully stated, pointedly looking at him to show which Obito he was talking to. "Do you remember everything that happened before your… accident?"

"No. Just a little bit, but the rest disappeared." Naruto plainly answered, which caused Obito to frown slightly at him.

His father turned to the Uchiha. "Do you know what happened after the accident?"

"Not much." His student admitted, but shrugged. "That doesn't really matter does it?"

"It does." The Yamanaka spoke up, his tone severe.

"Why? I remember." Obito spoke up, making sure to sound confused.

Naruto couldn't help but smirk mentally at the convincing tone. The brat could act better than Naruto had hoped he could.

"Yes but…"

"And I remember the other part. We are a part of us right?" Naruto cut the man off. He had to make sure that they wouldn't start messing with this mind. It was under enough stress as it was. If it weren't for Naruto's presence – which was used to deal with mental strain, which in turn allowed Obito's brain to adapt to his experience – it would have faltered a long time ago.

"Obito-kun…" His father started slowly, trying to calm him down, but he wouldn't have it.

"No! You want me to leave don't you? You want him…" He gestured to his current twin. "…to re-emerge as the real Obito."

"We are not trying to make you fade away. You are part of him, you will not disappear." Inoichi tried to pacify Naruto, but it only allowed Naruto to act angrier, knowing full-well that that was not going to happen in his case.

"Bullshit. Leave us alone."

"We have to insist tha…"

"Shut up!" He growled,

"No, you _listen_ to me Obito-kun." Minato interrupted him, his face suddenly closer to Naruto's and looking very serious, which startled Naruto. He grasped Naruto's shoulders and looked him right in the eye, his grip too firm to slip away from him.

"I do not want to lose you Obito-kun." Not again, was unspoken.

"You two might be stable now, but your situation might not remain stable forever. You could lose your mind. This is _dangerous_. We could lose you! Your team…" He paused for a moment as he chose his next words more carefully. "Your family too, we care about you."

Naruto was speechless. He had not expected for his father to give him such an inspirational speech. He opened his mouth for a moment before closing it. His eye flickered over his father's face, taking in the sincere expression that was present.

'This is not good. I can't allow him to do this!' He reminded himself loudly. No matter how much he wanted to make his father happy, he had his own survival – and actually Konoha's and his father's as well – to worry about.

So the time-traveler pushed all these negative emotions to the front of his mind, causing his teeth to grind and his eye to flash angrily.

"You don't know anything." He hissed at the man, causing him to flinch. "We can't merge. Accept it and go away. I will fix this. I will protect Obito against the dangers out there and don't you dare try stopping me." He continued, trying to pull away from his father.

They continued to stare at each other for a while, before Minato let out a heavy sigh and let him go. Staying just a few seconds longer to show him that he was standing his ground, Naruto brushed past his father and decided that he needed some distance from the men.

'Sorry Dad.' He couldn't help but think as he glanced over his shoulder, looking angrier than he really was, as it was actually his frustration that was leaking through.

Obito's eyes met his ego for a moment, who had nodded encouraging at him, giving him a slightly grim smile in support before Naruto stalked off.

'…But there are just things that you won't understand, no matter how big of a genius you are.'

~Minato~

He couldn't help but feel helpless as he watched an… alter ego of his student walk away from him. His heart clenched as he remembered the look that he had seen in the boy's eye just before he had become angry at him. He wasn't sure whether the boy realized it or not, but the desperation, fear and hopelessness in his student's alter ego had been visible for a mere second. This had been long enough for Minato to pick up.

"Why can't you just talk to me?" He couldn't help but mutter under his breath before turning to the other part of his student that had been left behind.

"This really is confusing. If this continues – which I hope it won't – we will have to think of a different name to call one of them." He muttered to Inoichi, while Obito watched them somewhat curiously before watching his twin walk away. Most likely wondering what they were saying.

"No, you can't." Inoichi objected sternly.

"Wh- oh." Minato nodded in understanding. "You're right, we can't. We should prevent the gap between them from growing." He corrected himself.

Inoichi nodded at his friend, glad that he understood and waved Obito to come closer, so they could speak more comfortably. "So he is the one in charge?" He asked.

"Yeah he is." Obito agreed, sitting down to play with the grass.

Exchanging glances, the two elder ninja sat down as well. Minato looked Obito in the eyes for a while and suddenly realized how odd it actually was that this Obito still had both eyes. He had noticed before of course. He was a ninja after all, but he had not paid it as much attention as he maybe should have, probably because he had known Obito for far longer with both eyes than with just one.

'What would that mean? Does it represent something? I would have to Inoichi when he get back'. He mused as he waited for his student to speak up.

Said student stared at him for a while, before looking questioningly at Inoichi, who took it as an invitation to start asking more questions.

"Don't you feel upset about it?" Inoichi asked carefully. The last thing they needed was for the two to start fighting.

Obito looked surprised for a while before laughing, taking both man off guard completely. "No, I'm glad."

Seeing the disbelief on the men's faces, Obito merely smiled at them. He broke off some grass and raised his hand to let it blow away with the wind that suddenly passed them. "He saved me." He admitted to the men. "He is my other half. Besides, he is right. The two of us won't be able to merge anymore."

"Why?" The Yamanaka inquired, sounding worried but slightly curious at the same time.

"I can't explain it." Obito admitted as broke off more grass and started rubbing it between his fingers.

There was an awkward silence.

"Don't worry about me." Obito suddenly spoke up, focusing on his sensei. "I'm alright. I need him to take care of me."

"Why?"

"Because…" Obito paused for a moment. "I am like a baby when I'm out there, awake." He admitted. "That's what happened today."

"You actually got separated." Inoichi tried to confirm his theory. "The part that you represent had been stored away and when pushed too quickly you emerged…"

"What?" Obito asked, confused. "Wait no! I was already like this when…" He frowned. "He…" His student waved over to where the other Obito had disappeared. "…took control of the body."

This time he looked directly at his sensei. "I was dead." He finally admitted, causing a shiver to run down Minato's spine. "He was the only thing left and it is because of him that I'm still here. I am trapped in my mind until I learn to connect to the outside again." He continued, though the more he explained, the more unsure he became.

"At least, that's what I think is happening."

"You are right." Obito's voice came from another direction, letting them know that Scar – Minato decided to secretly call him that – had returned.

~Naruto~

Obito was right. Naruto and Kyuubi had silently discussed what had just occurred a while ago. He had shared a couple of theories with the fox after being unable to find a source of entertainment while Obito had been in control. The fox had barely been willing to discuss it but reluctantly went along with the conversation. Though the demon had gone back into hiding in the shadows as soon as he was sure that the 'monkeyboy' would leave him alone for a while.

Leaving Naruto bored once again. Star-gazing was only interesting for a period amount of time, leaving him restless _and_ bored.

Just Naruto's luck that it seemed that time in his mind did not pass as quickly as in the outer world.

At least this seemed to be the case when Naruto was not trying to keep up with the outer world. The moment that he had found that pond, everything had gone by a lot faster. Naruto hadn't even tried to find an explanation for this odd phenomenon and merely accepted this gift for what it was. Maybe if he was very bored, he might try finding out.

Pushing these thoughts to the back of his mind, Naruto slowly sat down next to Obito, creating some distance between him and the mind-reader. Naruto was still nervous around the man, afraid that he would jump up at any moment, point his finger at him and yell 'You are not Obito. You are a time-traveling spirit that needs to be driven out of this body.'

Yeah, it probably would never happen, but then again, look around. If his mind could copy this clearing, he was surely able to think up these kinds of reactions.

Shaking his head slightly, he started to copy Obito and absently started to break off blades of grass. Before he released them though, he started to pull them apart in different pieces and then let them fall down in pieces.

The two blonde men gave him a look that let him know that they would be very careful around him. Naruto plainly tried to ignore it.

"You could say that I am in charge of the body." Naruto started to explain, noticing that Inoichi leaned forward in interest ever so slightly as the man realized that he was going to explain the working of the mind. He shot him a glance, but continued. "Obito" He gestured to the younger teen. "Has more control of the mind because he has the largest share in the original memories. You could see him as the original owner of the body." Naruto had to keep his voice clear and his face straight as he twisted the truth for the two observant ninja.

"During his absence however, he somehow lost connection with his body, hiding in his mind instead. This was what caused me to come here." Naruto waved at himself and stared with his single eye at Inoichi who was now following his explanation with a frown.

"He will need to learn how to take control of his body again before we _might_ be able to… as you call it… become one."

Might. 'I'm not promising you anything.' He told them silently in between the lines.

"Why is that impossible now?" Inoichi didn't even pause to confront him with that question, copying Naruto's own straight-to-the-point approach. "If you are as you call it 'the body' and he is 'the mind', what stops you from merging?

Naruto kept silent, for a moment having no clue what to say to the mind-reader, so instead he applied his poker-face and made it look like he was simply too stubborn to explain.

"Is the seal still activated?" Minato suddenly interrupted. "You died, but somehow the seal allowed you to split up into two alter egos by keeping Obito's previous memories from your current ones. If it is still activated…"

Well, Naruto could work with that.

"I guess that is a way to put it. You will just have to take our word, you _can't_ help us. Please don't try to find a way to deactivate the seal." He warned Minato. "At least not right now. We will fix this on our own." Naruto stated, putting a hand on Obito's shoulder to show his support to the younger 'half'. "We just need a bit of time."

Naruto's eye turned serious and determined.

"That's my promise. You have my word as a ninja" – he ignored the dry look he received from both ninja – "from Konoha…" Naruto continued, giving them a pointed look.

The mind-reader must have realized that forcing them was not an option, so with a heavy sigh, the matter was settled. "I will give you some time to work out your problem. You are not insane, like I had feared you might be for a moment..." Both Obitos twitched. "…but I _will_ be keeping an eye on you and as soon as you become even the slightest threat to Konoha..." He trailed off, knowing well enough that he didn't have to finish that sentence, though it did earn him a sharp glance from his father.

Naruto bowed to the man, knowing that the Yamanaka meant every word of it. "I understand."

"I do too." Obito copied him.

Inoichi stared at the two before nodding slowly and standing up. "Just remember that you two are still the same person."

Naruto and Obito glanced at each other and wisely stayed silent..

So, after reassuring Inoichi that it would probably be Naruto that would wake up in charge of the body, the matter was settled.

Minato have each of them a quick hug, as if to show them that he was there for them both, before stepping back so that Inoichi could cancel the jutsu. 8Though the ninja were less than happy with the current situation as they disappeared, both Obito's couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief that the matter was over with.

"Well… that went pretty well. Right?" Obito spoke up, rubbing his neck as he looked at his so called 'care-taker'.

Naruto's form morphed, growing taller and changing color, until he was back into his own body's shape. Running a hand through his spiky blond hair, the ninja chuckled ever so slightly. "You mean that we barely saved our hides. We will have to work on your control for a long time. I am not going to lie. It might take years." The look in Obito's eyes turned slightly desperate.

Naruto sighed sadly. "We will find a way Obito-kun. I'm not going to let you sit here the whole time like this. You will be able to watch everything." He pointed to the pond. "And I'm sure there will be a way for us to communicate." Obito nodded as Naruto slung his arm over the boy's shoulders in a comforting fashion.

"Well then… let's rest for a bit. Then we will annoy the fox for a while to talk about this sealing process and then we need to go search." He stated with so much energy that Obito even doubted that he needed to rest.

"Search?" Obito blinked. "For what?"

Naruto smirked. "My chakra. If we get hold of that after I got sealed to you, then I will be able to show you the absolutely most awesome jutsu ever invented."

Obito's eyes widened in excitement. "What jutsu?"

The blond's smirk widened, even turning slightly feral, as he thought back to the possibilities that would open up for him.

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu."

There was a dramatic silence, in which Naruto was daydreaming about the possibilites and Obito just staring ahead blankly.

Obito blinked slowly before he glanced at his friend and spoke up to break the silence, his voice full of disbelief.

"Your 'absolutely most awesome jutsu ever invented' is a _bushin?"_

"Tche, you just wait Obito. You will be surprised. Well, I guess we have rested enough! Let's go and bother Fuzzy!" Naruto called out, practically bouncing away.

Shaking his head, Obito had no choice but to follow.

'Well... Something tells me that I won't get bored for a while.'

~End Chapter~

Wait… did I just manage to finish this extra-long chapter? Finally! I'm actually surprised seeing how much time I have lost to write, which I also have to divide it between my current two favorite stories that I'm working on. Still, I can't help but feel encouraged by your wonderful acknowledgements that you enjoy the story so far! They are so motivating. I love you guys for all the support!

I even got a hint about a possible fan-art coming up. Seriously, I'm not even going to pretend that I'm not a sucker for those things. I love them! Yay!

Anyway, I hope that you people forgive my later-than-normal update. I will try to add more action next chapter. That is if Obito and Naruto manage to escape their somewhat paranoid and worried team that will surely follow them around constantly haha.

Hope to hear from you guys!

~Dreamyin


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary****: **Naruto does not have gotten the reputation of being the most surprising ninja for nothing. To keep up this reputation, the blond often lands himself in unusual situations that ask for the most unusual solutions. However, caught in a clash of jutsu while fighting Madara to the bitter end, and waking up in Obito's body buried under piles of stones was not something even Naruto thought possible. How will Naruto take care of the upcoming threat of Akatsuki and Madara in a past he does not know, while starting a new legend for Uchiha Obito? How will he use this second chance?

**Beta: Beloved Daughter. **Thanks a lot Beloved! :D

My dear wonderful readers! ! As always, I want to thank you for your many wonderful comments! I tried to answer nearly all the questions just before uploading this - my fingers are tired lol - but if I for some reason have missed your, let me know. And if you have another question, let me know as well ;). I know that it has been some time since the last update, but I'm busy busy busy! I currently have a short intership for university at a hospital. Very interesting, but it does mean less writing. Luckily I have some wonderful people reminding me to update, so here you go!

However, before I move onto next chapter, I want to thank _AngelsFallBeforeUs (_on deviantart) AKA _Animecrzylove _(on ) for making a fanart for me! :D I was honestly surprised that I recieved some! It excites me nonetheless of course! For those who are curious, the link is on my profile (at the bottom) :D

At the same time I would like to remind people (and especially a certain someone I received a flame from) that when you write some critiism to please make it constructive critism. I am not saying that I'm a terrific writer and able to write masterpieces, seeing as I do not have the skills nor the time, but I am trying my best and I always appreciate tips when it comes to writing. To the flamer in particular... I'm not forcing you to read this "shit" as you called it, nor am I ashamed of writing it. If you don't like something, _stop reading,_ thank you very much. Also, when writing a flame, please don't use an anonymous review, seeing as it gives the impression that you try to avoid a response.

Now I promptly ingore the other insults and thank a certain reviewer who was kind enough to give me an extra boost after having noticed the flame (I would have send you a PM but you disabled it). You are very kind for reminding you that people do like the story a lot. It are people like you (and the other encouraging reviewers) that make me want to continue the story even when I'm feeling tired or am stuggling. Thanks. :)

Now enough babbling from my part!

Let's get back to the story with a very short summary: So Naruto got stuck in Obito's body, got dragged to Konoha by Minato, has made a seal to hide his memories/chakra/fuzzy, then got in a fight with Kakashi and then accidenty awakened the sleeping Obito. After having talked Naruto/Obito woke up again, sharing the body. Obito was stuck for a moment with having the mere body control of a baby, Naruto still didn't have his chakra, not to mention that the other Shinobi are suspicious of the seal and unsure about what to do. That covers the most important things? So let's move on!

Enjoy!

**Chapter 11: Gaining Support**

~Minato~ A day after Obito regained consciousness ~

"No."

The voice was strong and determined, with an underlying tone of disbelief and anger.

'There is no way that I will allow that.' Minato thought, practically boiling with frustration as he looked at the man he had always looked up to.

He wasn't really angry with the man – well he was, but he couldn't blame the man for what he had said – because even though his emotions were peaking, Minato was still able to think rationally. From his own experiences in life, Minato knew that it was totally understandable for the man to be concerned about Minato's student. He was the _Hokage_. It was his responsibility to make sure all threats were taken care of and to protect the village that he loved.

But that didn't mean that the Sandaime couldn't be wrong though.

Two furious blue eyes were practically boring into the calm darker eyes of the elder.

The tension in the room was great. One could probably cut it with a kunai if they wanted to.

The two men stood across each other, the desk between them, as if it was acting as a symbol to show the position of power they were in.

Both of them stood tall, showing the other that their resolve in this argument. The Sandaime's pipe lay forgotten on the desk, discarded as soon as the Sandaime saw the other man step into the room. Minato stood with clenched fists that slowly unclenched in an attempt to appear calm, but he was well aware that the current Hokage was not fooled at all.

After what felt like ten minutes of silence, the elder man sighed and rubbed his forehead, having taken off the hat he usually had on. It now lay on top of the desk in front of the man, as if it was showing that he was still in charge.

But that still didn't mean that he wasn't wrong.

It was a custom between a Hokage and the chosen successor. For the same reason, the ANBU had left the room, leaving the two men to their private conversation. It was a show of trust and allowance to speak up their mind, which was exactly what he was doing.

"Minato-k…"

"He is not dangerous, Hokage-sama." The blond didn't shout, nor did he hiss in anger, but there was an icy tone in his voice that even made the Hokage feel slightly uncomfortable.

He stood on very shaky ground with his future successor right now. Said successor was a very good ninja, in control of his emotions in even the tightest situations when needed. However, now was not one of those times when it was necessary.

The Hokage gave Minato a look and tapped three times on the desk to regain his attention. "He has a seal in his mind. He has two personalities. He has been gone for months. Who knows what could have happened to him? He could be…"

"He is not dangerous." The blond repeated, cutting the respectful honorific off, which was something he normally never did. Though the Sandaime normally didn't threaten to destroy the life of a precious person either.

The lips of the Sandaime thinned. "I am very aware of your opinion Minato-kun. I don't like this either. Obito-kun is a very good boy, strong and determined. Even in times that I lectured him on behavior, I could clearly see the Will of Fire present in that boy. Still that does not mean that he currently is an unknown factor. Putting him in confinement may be harmful in your point of view, but we will be able to provide some help for him."

"It might take years." Minato objected. "You have seen what that place does to ninja."

"Many have been cured."

"Many have gone crazy. By the time he comes out of there, his Will of Fire will be gone." Minato objected icily, knowing very well that the man in front of him had a soft spot for the Will of Fire.

Minato didn't twitch as he saw Hokage's eyes sharpen before studying him carefully. The man was anything but unobservant and the blond knew that he was more than aware of what Minato was trying to pull. That didn't mean that he wouldn't agree with the blond though.

"Don't misunderstand my reason for summoning you here Minato-kun." Sarutobi told the ninja, his tone turning slightly more authoritative. "I was saying that I was _considering_ the option. I was not ordering you to put him there. I have asked you to come here to discuss possibilities and your own opinion. I have already talked to Inoichi-san about his findings. So calm down and tell me what you found."

Minato kept silent, eying the man in front of him carefully. Alright, so maybe he was right about the fact that Minato might have become defensive a bit too quickly.

That didn't change the blond's opinion in the slightest, though.

Both of them relaxed ever so slightly and the tension between them dropped to a more comfortable level. On an unspoken agreement, Minato sunk down in one of the two chairs in front of the desk, while Sarutobi walked around the desk to sit closer to him.

There was another staring contest between the two, but this time without any glaring, and this time it was Minato who broke eye contact with a sigh.

"He… Hokage-sama, you have to understand. The seal is not a harmful one. Its only function is to hide memories in his brain. There is of course the possibility that there are some harmful memories being hidden, but you know as much as I do that Obito would be one of the last to fight against Konoha."

"Blackmailing can go far."

"He is loyal." Minato reassured him.

The man hummed in agreement and momentarily stared out of the window. "I can easily admit that he is one of the most likeable of the Uchiha."

Minato couldn't help but snort slightly on that comment. "At some moments he can be the most naïve and even the most annoying one as well, but somehow his presence can be almost addictive. Certainly in more depressive situations like…" He didn't finish the sentence, but there was no need to tell the man that he was thinking about the war. The Sandaime nodded in agreement.

"I never really understood how he managed to keep so positive, certainly not with the whole Uchiha affair going on…"

The blond's eyes glazed over as he thought back to the times that he had stumbled across a crying Obito, who had desperately tried to hide his own tears from him. Obito's bonds with his family were not good. There had even been a time where Obito had almost been disowned, which was why Obito had been so focused on obtaining his Sharingan. Obito had never told the rest of his team though, seeing as it was taboo in his clan and he preferred not to focus on his problems more than necessary, which would explain the happy attitude he nearly always showed.

"Speaking about the clan, do you want to keep it quiet?" The blond suddenly asked, referring to Obito's return. Minato knew that the team he had been travelling with – a team of ANBU – had been ordered to keep quiet. While Minato knew that they would, he wasn't sure what the man in front of him was planning.

"What would you do Minato?"

The blond was surprised by the question. His surprise must have showed because there was an amused twinkle in the Hokage's eyes.

"You will take up the title soon. What would you do?"

Minato turned pensive for a moment before speaking.

"I would keep it quiet for the moment. From what information I have been able to gather, most of the clan has made it clear that they don't care about the 'loser'." Minato said, looking angry as he remembered their reaction upon hearing the news. The Uchiha clan actually seemed to be angrier that Kakashi received their precious eye than anything else, except for the few who had been close to him. He knew that Obito's aunt and uncle, who had taken him in after the death of his parents, were devastated at the news of Obito's death, but their happiness wouldn't currently make up for all the trouble that would come with the news of Obito's survival.

No, the best thing to do was to wait. He glanced at the Sandaime.

'Maybe it would be better for me to solve this in the first part of taking up leadership'. He thought, feeling slightly pained at this thought.

The first few months of the new reign of a newly appointed Hokage was a period of time in which the previous Hokage would assist the newly appointed Hokage with his duties – though Minato knew that he would be always open to Sarutobi's advice.

It was this period that was often filled with the biggest changes for the system. There were a lot of changes that Minato had in mind himself. He was more than aware that council thought that he was getting soft – and wanted to take advantage of it.

"I would wait for a while and then discuss his wishes."

The Hokage eyed him carefully and smiled, making Minato wonder if he knew what he was thinking.

Sarutobi eventually hummed in agreement. "I agree with you, but we have to get back on track Minato-kun, because it is not only the hidden memories that worry me."

He leaned forward, arms leaning on his legs as he directed his attention to the seal-specialist. "Tell me, Minato-kun. What else could the seal hide?"

Minato frowned. "Besides memories? Possibly a part of his mind. That…" He paused as he suddenly realized something. "Spiritual Chakra." He breathed. "If his body is fit enough…"

Everyone in the Shinobi world was aware of the fact that chakra was a product of spiritual energy and physical energy mixing together. However the proportion of both variables was often not the same. No matter how much someone pushed themselves physically, there was a certain limit at how much chakra one produced. This was because little physical energy was needed compared to how much spiritual energy was needed to produce chakra.

Obito, while currently not being in perfect shape, was fit enough to produce a lot more chakra than his previous level if only if he had the spiritual energy to do so.

However, the presence of spiritual chakra – especially if one was unaware of it - could be very dangerous.

"But even if this is the case…" Minato started carefully, trying to prevent jumping to conclusions. They were both aware that they were talking about very rare cases, but seeing as they were ninja they tended to extra careful with the 'what if's' .

"Then the seal I put on him will make sure that his chakra pathways won't overload. Even if there is a sudden increase in his chakra, it would be converted into harmless energy." He reminded the man.

"Indeed, but that is not the thing that worries me. I myself have come across only a few people that could hide spiritual chakra that way." The Hokage confirmed and reached towards his pipe. He took it, but didn't light it.

Minato looked at him questioningly, having a bad feeling about what Sarutobi was about to say.

"These were people that are forced to share their own mindscape with another source of energy." Sarutobi slowly said and sighed, staring at the blond directly into his eyes.

"Jinchuuriki."

Minato froze.

'_Jinchuuriki_? _Obito_? No way.' Minato objected automatically and shared this doubt.

"He would have never survived that. Only the Uzumaki are able to accept the burden of Kyuubi's chakra from each other without being killed and even then the ritual takes nearly six months. Kushina told me herself." He muttered. "The only chance that a new Jinchuuriki would survive is if it were an infant with undeveloped chakra pathways…"

"His medical examination has shown the presence of damaged pathways, yet they are slowly recovering."

"That… the chance of this being the case is so small that it is practically impossible." Minato argued. "I haven't seen anything in his mind that showed the presence of a demon either."

"It could be hidden in the seal." The Sandaime offered, causing Minato to frown.

"Then a very good Seal Master would have made the seal to hide such a presence. I would have to take another look."

"Inoichi has put a limit on the mind jutsu for at least three weeks, maybe even longer unless it is absolutely necessary. The latest entry was strenuous, seeing the condition he was in."

Minato nodded and looked him in the eye. "No, we don't want to fry his brain..." He agreed. "Still... Obito a Jinchuuriki?" He repeated, still not convinced.

"Even if it were – which I don't belief is the case – which demon would it be?" He questioned, indirectly challenging the man's theories.

The Sandaime shook his head, unable to answer the question. "I agree that this is all very unlikely. I actually don't believe it, but we have to keep our minds open. If I remember correctly, you were the one that said that nearly nothing is impossible. Look at you now, Yellow Flash."

Minato chuckled at that. "Indeed." He muttered, before his expression turned into a pensive one. He certainly had a lot to think about.

'One thing is clear: I will have to keep an eye on him.'

"So what do we do, Hokage-same?"

"We do what Inoichi advised. Let him regain his memories, but keep an eye on him. He is loyal to Konoha and probably won't become a danger to the village, but I am more concerned that he will become a danger to himself."

Minato sighed.

"I still clearly remember the first time I met him. The moment that I saw him laughing awkwardly after he failed to pull a prank, I just knew that he was going to be trouble, but I never imagined him to be this much trouble."

~ Naruto~

It had been nearly two weeks.

Nearly two weeks since Obito had accidently awakened while having control – or more specifically he had nearly no control at all – and Naruto was getting annoyed.

They were constantly watching him. Watching him nearly every moment he was consciousness.

There was a very naïve part of his brain that had secretly hoped that they wouldn't be keeping an eye on him like his more realistic thoughts had told him.

That they had something else to focus on or that they would trust him enough to… he didn't actually know what he imagined would happen. He had just hoped he would get more privacy.

Unfortunately for Naruto, this was not the case. It was like they were stalking them, afraid that he would disappear or go crazy if they didn't keep an eye on him.

Some moments, Naruto felt like they thought he was a spy.

He had to admit that he liked the attention at first – a lot even. He thoroughly enjoyed spending time with his father most of all. The smiles he received, the moments that the blond ruffled his hair in an affectionate manner.

Even spending time with his former sensei was enjoyable, though he was acting awkward from time to time, as if Kakashi was trying to do something but was constantly changing his mind. Naruto could see it by the looks he had been giving him when Kakashi thought he didn't notice. Obito and he had decided to give him time though. He would mention it when he was ready and otherwise they would just have to kick his butt again, after they had done some training.

So the first few days were wonderful. But after three days waking up with a cheerful Minato standing next to his bed to let him know that breakfast was ready, Naruto and Obito started to realize that he hadn't had a real moment of privacy besides 'falling asleep' or going to the toilet.

Naruto even mentioned to Obito that he suspected that they still kept track of his chakra signature in these cases and Obito – who was nearly naïve when it came to his friends – couldn't disagree with him.

Once the realization was there, it was difficult for them not to notice.

If Minato wasn't hanging around and training him – he was back more or less back to his original level before the accident – then Kakashi coincidentally pop up. If not Kakashi practically acting like his shadow, then Rin came to have dinner with him and to heal any strains that the training put on him.

He appreciated their concern, but it was getting on his nerves. He had so many things to do and so little time. He needed those damn clones!

'_You know, after you said that you could fight SS-class ninja like Madara, I thought that slipping away wouldn't be that difficult for you.'_

Naruto's eyebrow twitched as Obito spoke up from his mind. During the last two weeks, the two of them had found out how to communicate in their thoughts. It had relieved Obito from a lot of boredom and made Naruto feel less guilty about being in charge all of the time.

'_Kyuubi agrees with me by the way._' Obito told him smugly.

'Sure he does.' Naruto grumbled. 'I would be able to slip away in three seconds as soon as you get that damn gate open.' He jabbed back. 'I already modified the annoying seal on the back of my neck, which took a whole night by the way, so bother me when you have made yourself useful.'

Obito snorted. '_Tch…I'm trying, geeze. No need to get your panti…'_

'Obito.' Naruto cut him off. ' Please just continue trying alright? I'm sorry but I'm just getting so antsy here. Why can't Kakashi just leave me alone for a second?'

'_Well, he surely never acted like that before. He was always very obsessed with the rules, so maybe he needs a replacement.'_ Obito joked as he continued to do whatever he was doing.

"Always the obsessions." Naruto muttered under his breath.

"Obsessions?" A voice inquired.

Naruto turned his head toward Kakashi, who was leaning against the other side of the tree they were sitting under. The teenager was slightly roughed up, having had a spar with Obito just half an hour ago. A muscle in his neck protested against the movement, letting him know that he had been testing his limits as well. Rin would probably come by soon and heal their bruises. Even though it wasn't necessary, she always insisted, especially when it came to Obito.

It reminded Naruto much of Sakura. Though she usually would give him a lot of bruised cheeks as well.

"Obito?"

"What?"

"What about obsessions?"

Unsure as to why Kakashi was so interested about his mumbling, the black-haired ninja smiled sheepishly at him. "Yeah, you know… obsessions?"

"Yeah… What about it?" Naruto blinked as he received an unimpressed and inquiring stare that he recalled his future sensei often giving him. It was moments like this that made Naruto realize that the young boy in front of him would eventually grow up to be the scarecrow that he had looked up to.

"Err…"

Kakashi stared at him before he turned away, staring at the top of the trees that rustling in the wind. Naruto followed his example, deciding that Kakashi was letting it go. He took a deep breath to relax his body and started to prepare for a quick visit to Obito to see if he was booking process with the damn block on his chakra.

'_I'm not.'_ Obito dryly told him.

'Well, I will come and help then.'

'_I'm still trying, don't be such a pushover.'_ Obito complained.

'Don't be such a cry-baby.' Naruto replied, not really meaning it.

'_Tch, scaredy-cat.'_ Obito jabbed back with practiced ease.

Naruto smirked mentally.

'Teary-eyes.'

'_Whisker-face.'_

They continued to exchange insults without actually meaning it, both releasing some tension they were starting to feel with the pressure that they felt.

'Dobe.' They both ended up saying at the same time and chuckled slightly.

Just before Naruto thought that he was ready to slip back into his meditative state he was distracted when Kakashi suddenly spoke up.

"I'm sorry."

'_Huh_?'

Obito shared his confusion as well and Naruto wondered whether he should pretend to be asleep. The tone that Kakashi had used was pretty meaningful though – plus Obito mentally chided at him for even thinking about ignoring an apology of Kakashi of all people. So Naruto guessed he would have to face it. If Kakashi decided to share his inner conflict, then he should grab the chance he got before he changed his mind.

Ignoring Obito's grumbling, Naruto lazily opened his eye and glanced at his silver-haired teammate. "What?"

Kakashi's lips thinned for a moment before he sat up and looked down at him. "I'm sorry." He repeated firmly.

"For what?" Naruto inquired, not sure what he was apologizing for.

The ninja looked slightly annoyed by the confusion that he showed but answered nonetheless. "I'm sorry for not listening to you on the mission. I'm sorry for being such a…" He took a breath and continued. "…stuck-up prat all the time." Kakashi glared slightly as he saw his teammate's eyes widen at the name he called himself.

"I apologize for being obsessed with the rules the whole time."

Ah, so that is where it came from, Naruto decided. 'He must have wondered whether I was talking about him.'

For a while, he simply stared at his future sensei as he let Obito mule about the apologies he got directed at him. Had it not been so serious, Obito would have probably been laughing that Kakashi had just insulted himself, but he was surprisingly quiet. Naruto was not going to decide how to react for this occasion. Kakashi was clearly uncomfortable with waiting, but didn't push him.

'Are you alright Obito?' Naruto asked, knowing that the boy was still sour about a few points in their history together.

There was a moment of silence before Obito spoke up. 'Yeah I'm fine; tell him that it is fine.' The original black-haired ninja was clearly trying to brush away the annoyance and frustration that he still felt.

"Apology accepted."

Kakashi's eyes widened slightly at the blunt reply and Naruto promptly closed his eye again. It was easy for him to forgive his sensei.

Even though he had looked through the memories of Obito – and Obito his – as soon as the Uchiha had awoken they had become more distant. More like seeing them occur as a bystander instead of it being you. Plus he had spent a lot of years with the man and though Kakashi certainly had his faults, he had helped Naruto a lot and for that Naruto could only be thankful.

'Are you coming or not?' Obito asked, clearly trying to distract himself from what just happened. He would think about it when Naruto was done visiting.

'I'm trying.'

"Why?"

Naruto frowned when his focus was once again disrupted. "Why what?" He returned as his only eye glanced dryly at his sensei.

"Why do you forgive me so easily?"

"What are teammates for?"

That silenced Kakashi for a while, but he still wasn't satisfied. "You only saved me because you thought it was your job as a teammate?" He asked up, sounding somewhat bitter.

"What?" This time Naruto was confused. "No." He answered for Obito, conveying the offended tone that it had carried.

Naruto tried to look Kakashi in the eye, but the ninja wasn't looking at him. Instead, the silver-haired boy was glaring at the space in front of him, his face twisted in a troubled frown. The sight made Naruto promptly give up on trying to meditate. It was clear that Kakashi needed to talk and the time-traveler was planning to make sure that he did.

"I did what was right." Naruto told him.

In reality he was slowly letting Obito take charge of the conversation, following his directions and relaying his answers. It was odd to act like that but it was not as difficult as he had assumed. It wasn't really only following verbal instructions either. There was subtle way of communication through the mind that allowed Naruto to pick up emotions, images, thoughts, and intentions from Obito. It had taken a while to practice but they were getting there.

'_Thanks Naruto.'_

'No problem.'

Obito glanced at Kakashi, frowning slightly as he was clearly ignoring him. He contemplated on calling him names, but he felt that Naruto disapproved to that method, so he moved for another approach. He was going to make sure that his friend would stop with that annoying hovering of his, so that they were finally going to get some peace.

But first he had to make sure that the ninja wouldn't ignore him.

"What is really bothering you K'ashi?"

The nickname caught Kakashi of guard and he turned to the boy next to him in surprise. He studied the teen's expression carefully before he visibly relaxed.

"How are you able to be in control of your body?" He questioned, ignoring Obito's inquiry.

This question surprised the two of them, especially Obito who had not expected that people would be able to see the difference between them. Somehow it made him feel good that the difference was clear though and that Kakashi seemed to prefer 'him' to Naruto. Meanwhile, Naruto sighed mentally, understanding the feelings that Obito felt, but was slightly disappointed by the preference.

'No brooding Naruto.' He reminded himself, to which Obito winced.

'_Sorry.'_

'It's alright.'

"My other 'Me' is following my… instructions?" It sounded more like a question. "We figured this trick out over the last two weeks and I have been practicing so I can guide him somewhat. It's difficult to explain." He waved his hand to dismiss it.

"Still, what is bothering you?"

There was a moment that the two simply stared at each other, Obito waiting patiently while Kakashi was pondering how to say it. He slowly moved up his headband, so that he could stare at him with his Sharingan, which made Obito shiver slightly. It was still so odd to see his Sharingan like that.

Whatever they had been expecting, Naruto and Obito both hadn't expected him to be so blunt though.

"Do you want your eye back?"

…

'_Wait… WHAT_?'

Obito was clearly taken back by the question, which made him accidently slip back into the mind. Naruto was caught of guard by the loss of support, which weakened the arms he had been leaning on, causing him to land on his back. He soon regained his bearings easily enough though and stared with a knowing look at the teenager who was now, crouched on his feet next to him.

The moment that Kakashi looked in his eyes he tensed up again and his eyes became more wary.

"No!" Naruto answered quickly, ignoring the look he had received.

"I wasn't asking you."

Naruto mentally flinched at the tone, but tried not to let it bother him too much.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto tried, while comforting the panicking Obito as he regained his posture.

"I can see the difference you know." Kakashi muttered as he stood up.

Naruto's eye saddened and he felt a sense of rejection from the sentence alone. "Interesting." He said, brushing it off once more.

A troubled flash of emotions appeared in Kakashi's eyes but it quickly disappeared. With a huff, the boy glared up at the sky as he spoke. "I want the old Obito back. It was him who gave me his eye."

"I'm not going to make the decision for him." Naruto told him with a glare, feeling offended by the unspoken assumption.

"Then do what you did before."

"Obito was caught of guard by your subtle question. We can't do it right now." Naruto cut back, annoyed that Kakashi thought that it was so easy. He never realized that his sensei really had been a prat when he had been young.

The jab made Kakashi scoff at him, before he glared at Naruto and challenged him. "Why don't you want to merge Scar?"

'Scar? They name me Scar of all things?'

"What are you talking about?"

"You are the one in control. It is because of you that you have two personalities."

Naruto remained silent at the accusation and moved to stand up as well. Kakashi didn't tense to indicate that he wanted to fight, but Naruto was not going to be caught unprepared if it suddenly came to it.

"I'm still Obito." He told the young teen, not really lying. After all, he was physically, he reminded himself.

"You are a part of Obito." Kakashi protested. "I have heard what happened. You are just a fragment that came into existence after the mission."

Naruto felt angry with the young boy in front of him at first, but then forcefully calmed himself. It was difficult to forget that the boy in front of him, no matter how wise and knowledgeable he currently was and would be – and had been – in the future, he was still a boy. He was clearly upset with what happened, but Naruto was not going to let this… brat tell him what to do.

"You don't know anything." He growled at him, catching the silver-haired ninja of guard. "You assume that we can just merge and that everything will return to normal. Don't try to object." He told the teen as Kakashi opened his mouth to probably do just that, not really realizing that his posture changed into a more authoritative one.

"The fact that you offered back your eye tells me enough. You also refer my near death" – Kakashi winched. "…as 'the mission'. Deal with the mistakes that happened. Don't blame it on yourself and don't take out your anger on me _Baka_, because I am part of him no matter what will happen."

Naruto turned his back on Kakashi and angrily walked away.

'_I'm sorry Naruto.' _Obito quietly spoke up from his mind.

'Just please be quiet for a while? I will find a place to hide and help you with that damn block.' Naruto grumbled as he went through a couple of hand seals and let the wind take him away.

~Kakashi~

'I didn't mean it like that.' Kakashi thought with a touch of guilt and surprise as he mentally repeated what Obito – or at least Scar – had just told him.

Kakashi was not sure what to do as he watched him go. When Obito reached the end clearing though, he suddenly realized that he was actually leaving. His eyes widened with regret and he raised his hand out to him.

"Obito wait!" There was a slight panic in his voice as he made a move to go after him. Unfortunately, unknown to him, Obito had already finished the hand seals and flashed away, leaving Kakashi behind.

Surprised by the unfamiliar jutsu that Obito suddenly could perform, he was too slow to follow him and looked helplessly at the empty space where Obito had just been.

Kakashi silently cursed at himself for letting Obito escape and for acting out of hand. He was a ninja damnit! Why had he let his emotions taken control over him? He hated feeling this twinge of guilt too, because Scar had been right. Kakashi did wish that he didn't exist, because it would mean that everything would be back to normal. If he only had kept his mouth shut about the eye then-

"Kakashi-kun."

The silver-haired ninja swirled around and came face to face with his sensei, who was staring down at him with a stern expression. He immediately felt even guiltier, knowing that he had just said things that he shouldn't have. He had honestly been surprised by the emotions that had just taken control of him. Normally he wouldn't have ever said so many things without properly thinking about it, but when it came to Obito everything seemed so difficult.

He winced. "I'm sorry."

The blond man still glared slightly at him.

"You called him Scar."

"I realize that."

"You know that you shouldn't separate them Kakashi."

The teen was about to agree, but he still felt angry and clenched his hands. "But I can tell the difference." He whispered to his mentor.

"They are _both_ Obito."

"They feel _different_." Kakashi still objected.

It was difficult to describe the difference though. Scar surely looked like Obito and acted like him a lot too, but there was a feeling… an itch that Kakashi couldn't define. He brushed it aside though, assuming that Minato wouldn't understand and looked down to the ground. Taking a deep breath, he regained control of his emotions and let the mask of disinterest slip on his face. "I apologize." He said with a soft drawl.

"Don't even try that on me." The voice became even sterner, which forced Kakashi to listen.

"Look me in the eyes when I talk to you Jounin."

He followed the order easily enough.

"I will make sure that you two will talk later, in my presence." He gave him a pointed look as he added the last part. "But first I want you to understand that the eye was a gift. Obito is clearly not expecting you to return it to him. Otherwise he would probably tell you in some way."

"I just thought…"

"I know Kakashi." Minato sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Look, it is good that you finally share some of your inner conflicts, especially since your father…" Kakashi's face automatically went blank at the mention of his father, before he forced himself to let it slip from his face.

His father was not a traitor, he reminded himself.

"…practically raised you as a perfect ninja, but please be careful with letting your frustrations go all at once. Talk to me first if you feel the need to vent alright?"

Kakashi stared at the blue earnest eyes of his teacher – his mentor – and nodded.

"Hai Sensei."

"Good, now you have been summoned for a mission so meet me later at the Hokage Tower. I will check up on Obito and meet you there."

~ Naruto ~

Sitting in another clearing, Naruto finally was able to slip back into his meditative state.

It took a while for him to slip into his mind though, seeing as he was constantly distracted by what had just happened to him. He let out a relieved sigh as the feet of his mental representation touched the soft grass of the clearing. Taking a deep breath, he glanced up at the full moon that was always there and then moved towards the forest. Following his instincts, he found Obito sitting in front of a large tree that looked different from the rest. The leaves on this tree were more yellow than the others; some leaves even had a golden hue here and there.

Feeling drawn to the tree, Naruto stepped closer.

"You managed to make it visible." Naruto commented, glancing at Obito's form which was brooding on the ground.

"Yeah."

"You knew that the question was coming."

"I hadn't expected it." Obito denied. "Wait, you knew?"

"I was expecting it." Naruto confirmed.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Obito protested, putting his hands on his head.

"I thought that you knew." Naruto answered. "Besides, it is your choice."

"Of course I don't want it back! I'm not going to let him roam around without a second eye that he lost because of me!"

"So it is guilt then?"

"N-no!" Naruto sighed when the answer came too soon.

"You do feel guilty." He pushed, not backing down when Obito glared at him.

"So what if I do? I'm not saying that I do, but what if? Would it matter? You actually expect me to ask my friend to give me back my eye? Is that what you think of me? Because I'm not going to do it, Naruto. It was a gift. I don't need it any more than him."

Obito seemed to be taken back by the smile that he received from Naruto. "I like that answer."

"Wait what?"

"I like your attitude, besides…" He ruffled the boy's hair, causing him to pout. "Kyuu has been muttering about fixing the eye if that is possible."

"So it might not be possible."

"Nope."

"You are awfully calm about it." Obito complained.

"Wanna know why?" Naruto asked and smirked when the teenager looked at him expectantly. "'Cause you still have your eye." He said, flicking Obito's forehead.

The black-haired boy's eyes widened as he touched his forehead.

"Think about that for a while." Naruto prodded, as he turned back to the block that stood in his way of helping out. "I have to take care of this troublesome obstacle."

Putting his hand on the tree's surface, he automatically let out a sigh of relief. This was his chakra. It was his raw, more uncontrollable and dense spiritual chakra that the body had automatically pushed away to protect itself when he arrived.

"Come back." He muttered. "It's alright."

It felt odd talking to his chakra like that, but he felt something shift under the tree's surface. Closing his eyes, he leaned against the tree, resting his forehead on the smooth surface. He suddenly felt an urge to breath and followed it without hesitation. The ninja gasped when he felt himself starting to actually absorb his chakra. He felt stronger. He was felt energetic. He started to feel hyper, the energy that he had always had difficulty to control as a child.

His eyes snapped open when the flow into his body became larger. There was too much to absorb at one time though. He wasn't sure if he was going to be able to use all of it. Gritting his teeth, he tried not to lose grip against the now burning strain that was pushing against him. He needed to push it back, he realized. He had to make sure that he could access it when he needed it, but he needed it back in storage.

"Help me out here Obito." He growled under his breath and was thankful when Obito almost immediately stood by his side.

Pushing his hands against the tree as well, Obito gasped in surprise as he felt the enormous amount of chakra that flowed under the tree's surface.

"_This_ is your chakra?"

"Yes."

"No wonder you could make so many clones." The Uchiha muttered as he helped his friend rein in the chakra. Both of then struggled to remain in control, but after an unknown amount of pain, the pressure of the chakra flow dispersed. Pushing most of the chakra back in the tree, it seemed to grow even larger than before.

Finally, the two ninja managed to push the last amount of chakra back into the tree. Testing it, Naruto stepped back and only put one hand on the tree. He pulled a little bit of chakra back and was relieved to find that the rest of the chakra didn't crash down on him like before. Sighing in relief, Naruto flopped onto the ground. Now that he was charged with his own chakra, he was practically bouncing with energy, but he was tired at the same time.

"Wow." Obito chuckled right next to him, having followed his example. "I feel somewhat high."

Frowning, Naruto glanced to his companion. "What do you mean?"

"This amount of power…" Obito shook his head. "I take it back Naruto; no wonder you beat SS-ninja."

"Well, the downside is that we have to keep it hidden for a while. We can't run around with such a prominent rise of chakra level." He glanced at Obito. "Which means that you will have to try and make sure that it remains stored in the tree."

Obito hummed in agreement. "Do we have to do this often?" He asked, looking slightly reluctant to do it again.

"Probably. My chakra is difficult to control. Hopefully we will get better at it in time. We should be able to start training really soon." Naruto said, practically beaming with excitement.

The two of them sighed in relief at the same time at the thought of being able to train properly. They would have to work very hard, but that was not going to stop them.

"You poked my forehead." Obito suddenly spoke up.

"What about it?" Naruto questioned as he started playing with the grass.

"I used to do that to Itachi-kun."

Naruto glanced at him in surprise. He suddenly remembered a few vague memories that he had looked through. "You are his example aren't you?"

"Yeah." Obito muttered wistfully. "Even though the rest of my family mostly disliked me, Itachi-kun somehow saw something in me that he liked. I still haven't figured out what it is."

The Uchiha stilled when Naruto started laughing at him.

"Don't make me punch you." He threatened as he sat up.

Rubbing away some tears from his eyes, Naruto waved his hand in defense. "No, I'm not laughing at you. It's just that…" He stopped as he suddenly stiffened.

"What is it?"

"Someone is nearby. I can sense it now."

"How?"

"It seems that I managed to maintain some natural chakra." He said with an exciting grin. "I didn't expected that. More important though… I recognize the signature. We may have a problem though."

"What is it?"

"I recognize the signature. It's an Uchiha. We don't want attention from your clan right now."

Obito's eyes widened in understanding. "Can we slip away?"

"I know that this person won't allow that. He will be too curious if we do."

"Who is it?"

"The one that you poked on the forehead." Naruto told him and easily noticed the excitement in Obito's eyes when he realized who he was talking about.

"You will let me talk then?"

"If it can't be helped."

"**Can you brats shut up for a moment? I see that you have finally managed to get your spiritual chakra back. About time." **Kyuubi complained with a low growl**. "Now, as much as I despite your sort Uchiha, I agree with the brat that you would be the best to talk with him. Naruto would probably ruin it otherwise." **He plainly ignored Naruto's protest.

"No need to be so rude Kyuubi."

"**I wouldn't be if you two weren't so damn loud. Now get going, you two are even more annoying when you are together and even worse with your chakra back. Why must I be the one that gets stuck with two hyper ape-monkeys?"** The demon muttered the last part under his breath.

Obito stared with wide eyes at Naruto who grinned at him. "Let's go poke his forehead, Obito. Though remember that we can't be too obvious about our identity. We don't want to gain the attention of your family yet." Naruto warned as he closed his eyes.

Nodding seriously at the warning, Obito closed his eyes and tried to think back to the sensation that he had felt once before. A pull appeared in his stomach and before he knew it, they opened his eye. Naruto was able to keep his face blank, while fighting against the facial expressions that Obito's reaction provoked, and he glanced towards the direction where he felt the familiar chakra come from.

'_This chakra is awesome.' _Obito told him, feeling much stronger.

'Don't let it get to your head.' Naruto chided him, before he fell silent.

Naruto didn't turn his head toward the bush that the young Uchiha was crouched behind as he calmly spoke up. He calmly remained in the lotus position he had put himself in and smirked mentally when he felt the chakra signature drop to a nearly unnoticeable level.

The young Uchiha was clearly trying to remain hidden.

'I taught him that!' Obito boosted in a prideful manner. '_He even got better at it than I was.'_

'Well, let's show him that you didn't teach him well enough.' Naruto teased as he spoke up.

"Are you going to spy on me all day?"

**~ End Chapter ~**

Coming up: Itachi-Obito confrontation! How do you except that to work out? Hehe.

Once again thank you for the wonderful support! I would be very happy to receive some feedback from you guys (flames are ignored, constructive critisims and comments very much appreciated) , thank you very much :)

Hope to hear from you soon and till next time!

~Dreamyin


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary**: It is not for nothing that Naruto has gotten the reputation of being the most surprising ninja. As if to keep this reputation, the blond often lands himself in unusual situations that ask for the most unusual solutions. However, after fighting Madara to the bitter end and caught up in a clash of jutsus, waking up in Obito's body and buried under piles of stones was not something even Naruto thought possible. How will Naruto take care of the upcoming threat of Akatsuki and Madara in a past he does not know while starting a new legend for Uchiha Obito?

**Beta:** Thank you Beloved Daughter :D for correcting all the grammar errors that I let slip (or don't even notice hehe)

Hi wonderful and very patient readers of mine! I love you guys! I am half-way my ultimate goal! I got past the 500 reviews! Now the dream of 1k seems possible! Wheee!

How are you? I'm not having a good day myself to be tell you the truth. I just failed my driver's exam. Damn it, my nerves got the better of me. I know I can drive, but noooo of course I had to become a nervous wreck that showed the examiner just how many mistakes one can make. Bye bye money, hello more lessons. - So now that is out of my mind (for now) I want to thank you all for the wonderful reviews I once again received. Re-reading them makes me feel much better.

Sorry, enough of that. There are worse things in the world for me to go ranting lol.

One thing before you go an read this chapte rthough. I want to thank  Animecrzylove (AngelsFallBeforeUs on DA) for coloring her own fanart and working on another piece. You are sure spoiling me! Thank you very much! Once again the link is in my profile.

Anyway, enough babbling. Here is the next chap! – if it somehow turns out more depressing than normal… well… stupid nerves of mine.

Enjoy and please let me know what you think!

**Chapter 12: Being Weighted **

"Are you going to spy on me all day?"

Naruto mentally grinned in amusement when he felt a slight flare of chakra coming from the Chibi-Itachi hidden in the trees. His grin widened when he noticed that the chakra lowered even further. The brat was smart; he didn't come out immediately and instead tried to make his chakra even more unnoticeable, probably hoping that he would disappear from his radar.

'Hmm, certainly a better approach than my own at that age.' He had to admit, thinking back to the loud and direct confrontations that he had always preferred.

'He's hiding his chakra pretty well. Genin-level?' He estimated.

'_At least.' _Obito confirmed. '_He's called a prodigy for a reason, you know.'_ He reminded the blond, while he was still buzzing with energy in his head from the chakra that he had absorbed from the tree before.

'And he has seen war. At that age...' Naruto shuddered. 'That certainly teaches someone to be more paranoid. How old is he at the moment anyway?' He questioned, thinking of the war-hardened and icy Akatsuki member that he had fought a couple of times in the future. The man had always appeared to be so emotionless. How young had he been when he had been forced to fight for the first time?

'_Hmm… He is five years old, I believe. He will turn six in a couple of months. Are you going to call him out yet? I really want to talk to him.'_Obito answered, obviously impatient.

'Five years? Well that certainly explains his future behavior…' Naruto thought, pondering what kind of psychological hit the war must have been for the young child's mind. Sakura would surely know, he mused with a sad grimace. Shaking his head and pushing his dear memories away, he mentally nudged the hyper Uchiha who was distracting him and making it difficult for him to appear calm and collected.

'You will need to calm down first brat. My chakra _is _making you somewhat high.' Naruto observed with a frown. 'Besides, if we don't want to draw attention on us, it would probably be better to ignore him and leave.'

'_What? Why?_' Obito protested incredulously. _'No!'_

'We have to keep ourselves hidden from the Uchiha clan. There must be a good reason if Dad and Jiji haven't let our return from the dead be known to your clan yet. Besides, with the treatment that you got, do you really wan…'

'_I know! I don't really care about that anymore'_ Naruto didn't comment about the white lie that he heard. '_I only care about Uncle and Auntie and Itachi. He is my little nephew!_' Obito protested.

Naruto sighed. 'Obito, I'm jus…'

'_I just want to see how he is holding up.'_ Obito pleaded, sending him a wave of emotions that made it difficult for the blond to refuse.

Naruto slipped back into his mindscape for a moment, just to scrutinize his partner. "Fine." He relented as he had done so thoroughly. "But make sure that the rest of the Uchiha clan won't find out."

"_Well duh! What do you take me for?" _Obito shot back, though his eyes shone with relief.

"Don't be so rude." Naruto chided as he rolled his eyes and playfully whacked him on the back of his head. Grinning, Naruto quickly slipped back to consciousness before the Uchiha could retaliate.

'_Narutoooo….'_Obito whined.

He was ignored. 'Well, I guess we will just have to wait until his curiosity gets the better of him.'

'_He is pretty patient.'_ Obito warned.

Naruto snorted. 'He is still a child.'

'_You don't know him as well as I do.'_ The Uchiha argued with a huff.

'Not at the moment no.' Naruto agreed. 'But he will want answers.'

Grumbling under his breath, Obito finally agreed to wait five minutes for the chibi to come out of hiding. Taking a deep breath in his 'meditation', Naruto couldn't help but enjoy the natural chakra that made him feel a little lighter and aware of his surroundings again. He focused on the grass and the trees moving in the wind, the animals of the forest moving about. He had missed this tremendously.

Obito, curious as to what this so called 'natural' chakra actually did, observed his actions and shivered when he felt the chakra as well.

Right at that moment, Obito could pinpoint Itachi-kun's hiding place up in the tree almost immediately. His nephew was slowly moving, trying to get to a spot that would give him a better view of the stranger meditating in the woods.

'_That is so…' _He couldn't find the right words to describe the feeling that he was experiencing.

'Refreshing?"The blond opted with a grin.

'_Addicting.'_Obito admitted.

Naruto's grin was replaced by a frown, seeing yet another sign that Obito could possibly become addicted to the chakra rush. It reminded him of a few ninja that became addicted to soldier pills in his own future, a very dangerous addiction.

'Draw back then, we can't have you become addicted to my chakra Obito-kun.' He told the boy sternly.

Reluctantly, Obito obeyed his advice and distanced himself from Naruto's chakra and focused more on trying to sense the chakra of his nephew on his own. He was aware of the consequences that any addiction could have, death being one of them.

'_He's moving?' _

'Yes. Sneaky little nephew you got.'

'_Heh, I'm better. He cornered me to teach him after I had played a prank on one of the clan members.'_ Obito bragged, grinning as he thought back to the bright neon pink paint that had completely covered two chuunin.

Naruto chuckled as he saw the image appear. 'We should go pranking sometime.' He said with a mental grin, which Obito easily matched. Naruto suddenly had difficulty keeping a mischievous grin from his face.

'_Ne, Naruto.'_Obito prodded after a while. '_Are we really going to wait for him to react?'_

Rolling his eyes, Naruto subtly checked Obito's state and was satisfied to see that the rush had mostly worn off. Still he was certainly going to keep an eye on him.

'Fine.' He admitted, cancelling his chakra and slipping back in order to interact with Obito a little easier.

Glancing over to the tree in which they had last sensed him, he flashed him a grin. "Do I need to ask again?"

~Itachi~

The young Itachi up in the tree shivered slightly as he saw the stranger's face morph into a grin. It was a very familiar mischievous grin, which only increased his curiosity but also unsettled him at the same time.

He had barely been able to spot it, seeing as it was barely visible underneath the red scarf that hid the lower part of ninja's face. The eye-patch and the bandana also made him suspicious. The cheeks and the curve of the figure's eye however, had showed the young Uchiha that the stranger was certainly grinning. Why?

Had he been spotted?

He frowned, knowing that he had been trying very hard not to make any sound, just like his Obito-nii had taught him before he… His thoughts turned sad and he forced himself to think about something else, like the stranger that reminded him of someone. Strongly.

Obito-nii? No he was gone.

He twitched slightly as he saw the stranger break out of his concentration and glance over to him.

"Do I need to ask again?"

Knowing that his second attempt at slipping away had failed, he let himself drop from his hiding place, but he stuck close to the base of the tree, should he have to hide again. He wasn't sure how this stranger would react to his presence. Was he even a Leaf ninja? He couldn't see any form of identification.

His dark eyes narrowed.

His father always told him that shinobi were required to wear some sort of identification.

"Who are you and where is your identification?" He demanded, imitating the authoritative voice of the police cops like he had been showed to do.

The stranger stared at him, wide-eyed. He didn't immediately get a reaction from him, which was odd. It was as if he was thinking very hard. Taking the time to study the boy, he suddenly felt a pang of sadness. He- this boy reminded Itachi so much of him.

But he was dead. They had said that he was dead and some looked like they didn't even care. Why didn't they care? Itachi had nearly cried. He hadn't of course, but no one else but his Aunt and Uncle had looked sad.

Sure, Obito was a loser sometimes, but Itachi had liked his presence. It was his personality. It was light. It was bright, reminding him of sunny weather. Plus, he never demanded expected anything from him at all – well besides hugs. The boy always tried to hug Itachi, even though Itachi acted like he didn't want to be hugged. He missed those hugs. Even the flicks to his forehead were now gone.

"Hey brat, are you alright?" The stranger questioned, staying in his lotus position as he regarded him.

Reigning in his emotions, Itachi chided himself for showing them in presence of the stranger. His father said not to. Use the mask, he reminded himself, forcing his facial expression to go blank.

"Brat, that is creepy." The man laughed at him, which caused Itachi to twitch.

'I'm trying really hard!' He thought in annoyance. 'And he is laughing at me!' Who did he think he was?

"Who are you and where is your identification!" He repeated slowly, emotionlessly, though he twitched as he saw the teenager's grin become even wider – though it suddenly looked sadder as well.

Why?

"Sheesh, little kids these days…" The red-scarfed boy complained, shifting himself out of his meditation pose. As he stood up he put his hand into his pouch. At the move, Itachi tensed almost automatically, putting his weight on the balls of his feet to ru-

"Calm down brat, I'm just showing you my head protector. Paranoid much?"

Itachi didn't know why this ninja talked to him like that, nor did he know why he could read his expressions so well. He had been training for months with his father to attain the emotionless mask that the Uchiha were famous for. Even his teammates sometimes had difficulty reading his emotions. Now this rude boy came along and was suddenly able to read him like only his mother could?

Who the hell was he?

Itachi didn't answer, nor comment about it though; instead he let out a soft huff. "You are on grounds that are property of the Uchiha Clan. Therefore it is my duty to make sure you are not a threat. Now who are you?" He said, reaching for his kunai pocket in a threatening fashion.

Instead of giving him an apology like he had almost expected – seeing as the Uchiha clan was well known and respected –the boy just laughed at him.

"Nice try brat, but the clan ground starts from there." The teenager said, pointing to the tree that Itachi had dropped from and then drew an invisible line at another to Itachi's left. "This is all part of the outskirts, so you don't actually have the right to demand anything from me."

The stranger was right, which unnerved Itachi more than he let on. How did he know that?

Who was that?

Feeling uncomfortable, the young academy student growled slightly under his breath. This stranger was pushing his buttons. No, he told himself, why was he letting him push his buttons? He shouldn't care about what he was saying.

"Still, that doesn't mean I am not a Konoha ninja." The boy told him, once again grinning. "Here."

He showed Itachi his headband. Trying to activate his un-mastered Sharingan for a moment, Itachi scanned the headband and the man in front of him. Well the headband looked real. He probably was a-his eyes widened and for a mere second his Sharingan did appear before it died out. It made him slightly dizzy, but he was too distracted with his findings than to pay attention to it.

Had that been his Sharingan?

"You managed to activate it already?" The stranger in front of him whispered in shock. "Heh, you really are a genius. It will take a while for you to master it though."

"What is wrong with your chakra?" Itachi blurted out, not paying attention to what the ninja said. "You…" He trailed off as the wheels in his head started spinning.

The teenager obviously tensed. "What are you talking about? Just because you are able to flash your Sharingan for even more than half a second at that age doesn't mean that everything you see is true, little genius." The latter was obviously sarcasm. "So now you have checked on me, can I go back to my meditation?" His tone changed at the question, becoming a little more nervous.

Itachi didn't say anything. Instead he drew closer, somehow not afraid that the boy in front of him would strike him as he remembered with shock the bright chakra had been running through the young teenager. "It's so bright." He muttered, eyes narrowing. "My teacher said that is nearly impossible for someone as young as you are."

He frowned, remembering that he had also seen something at the ninja's neck, a –"Seal?"

Weren't those drawn on people who were being watched?

The stranger rolled his eye, drawing his attention to the scars that surrounded his eye. "Listen Itachi-kun." Said boy's eyes narrowed at the name. So the stranger did know him?

"There have been… circumstances for my chakra to become like this, so it is not a big deal. I'm not an imposter or anything. Now stop poking your curious little nose in other people's business." He chided, moving his hand forward before he flicked him on his forehead.

Itachi froze as he felt the finger make contact with his forehead. The manner he had done it. The speed, even the spot he had been hit. It all matched.

It suddenly dawned on him like one thousand bricks. He _knew_ him!

His eye was exactly the same color and that grin! Even his height seemed to match.

"Obi-Obito-nii?" He stuttered in shock.

The dark eye widened. "Sorry, what?"

The apprehension that the young boy felt made him freeze for a moment. The voice had sounded so full with disbelief. Was he right? Could it be his cousin? What if he wasn't? Would people be angry with him?

"Ne, Chibi-kun, snap out of it."

Chibi-kun. Obito called him that sometimes as well! Suddenly feeling a lot more determined, the young prodigy charged forward, determined to grab the scarf that was hiding the boy's face. If it really was his cousin…Why hadn't anyone told him?

The young child expected to be blocked, so with a jump he kicked out to keep the boy's arms occupied as he reached for the scarf. The teenager had seen it coming however and easily pushed him away from the red shawl and jumped back.

"Sneaky brat. It's rude to attack people like that."

"You are rude too." The five-year-old shot back childishly without even thinking and ran towards him once more. It was not difficult for him to fight. He had been training since he could walk. He just had to follow his instincts and grab that stupid scarf to prove his theory.

"Point taken." Possibly-his-cousin shot him an amused look as he dodged around the clearing, staying away from the Uchiha ground the whole time.

He managed to get close once, but Obito – he felt surer with every passing minute –caught him off guard by sweeping his feet from under him. He flipped back, but before he landed on the ground in a crouch, a hand caught the collar of his shirt and he was momentarily helpless.

Waving his arms around in surprise, he stared with wide eyes at his cousin standing in front of him. 'Who is holding me?' He thought with some panic. Had his father caught him fighting? He would have yelled at him normally.

Craning his neck, he was surprised to see a _solid _copy of Obito behind him, holding the back of Itachi's shirt to keep him off the ground. He tried to kick out, but it didn't work.

"Solid?" He questioned, looking at the one in front of him.

However, instead of a smug face like he had expected, the teenager seemed surprised as well. In fact, he was practically drooling at the solid clone that saw in front of him. "Cool." He even caught Obito mutter under his breath.

'Huh?' Obito was so weird.

Itachi was confused but decided to take advantage of the distraction. Reaching into his shirt, he took out the kunai that he had hidden there and stabbed the clone in the arm. He heard a hiss from behind before – poof – the clone disappeared.

"Hey! What if that had been the real me?" Obito complained, his voice suddenly far more familiar than before.

"Well, you should have seen it coming!"Itachi huffed, throwing the kunai towards him, which was caught easily.

"Maa… so cheeky." Obito complained, scratching his cheek. "And stop calling me Obito."

The five-year old's eyes narrowed, determined to take him admit that he _was _in fact Obito. "No! Take off your scarf, Obito-nii." He demanded instead, pointing at it.

He didn't really care about sticking to the emotionless façade anymore. Instead, his cheeks got a little red from the tension he was feeling. His cheeks puffed he absently stomped his foot on the ground.

A glimmer of amusement entered the wide eye. There was a long silence though and the eye lost focus for a moment. Obito frowned, shook his head and then grinned at him.

"Well, well, well and here I thought you had turned into a little stuck-up ice-prince."

"Nii-san!"

"Stop calling me that!"

"No!"

Itachi was taken off guard when the teenager suddenly sprinted towards him, chakra-enhanced, and flicked him on the head once more. "Tell me brat, who is Uchiha Obito?" He asked, causing the young boy to frown in confusion. Itachi slowly relaxed his fighting stance as he saw that his cousin was simply waiting for him to answer.

"You are." Itachi told him dryly, not understanding why he was asking him such a silly question.

There was a short silence in which Obito's eye frowned once more, as if indecisive about what to do. His eye expression turned slightly moody as he shook his head. Itachi couldn't help but be confused by his strange behavior.

'What is wrong with him?'

"Obito is your cousin. He was part of the _Uchiha_ clan. He _died_ in a mission. He is now a shadow. He needs to be in the shadows right now" He urged the boy to understand, the boy who stared at him with wide eyes.

"But you are right here…" It was a slightly difficult concept for such a young boy to grasp, even though he was the Rookie of the Academy Student. He couldn't quite understand why Obito was hiding from his clan.

"Why am I not taking my scarf off?" Obito tried.

"Because you want to keep your identity secret." Itachi answered easily and frowned as a sudden thought came to him. "You are undercover?"

Obito grinned at him, though the feeling that was supposed to be behind it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Something like that yes."

Itachi regarded him with a pensive expression.

"You are not doing a very good job by telling me Nii-san." He dryly told the ninja, who sweat-dropped at the comment.

"Don't change the subject 'tachi…" His cousin complained, crossing his arms as he regarded him more seriously. "Obito is dead." He repeated.

"But you are just hidi-" He quickly shut up as Obito waggled his finger at him.

'Answer wrong and I will flick your forehead again.' It seemed to threaten.

"Now, what happened to Uchiha Obito again?" He questioned the academy student.

Itachi frowned but answered the question like he knew Obito wanted him to answer. "He's dead."

The young boy felt suddenly a little shaky, tears were building up behind his eyes, but he kept them back firmly. He was not going to cry. Looking at the ground, he let clenched his fists.

"Uchiha Obito is dead."

But if his cousin couldn't be his cousin anymore, then who would bother him with hugs?

~Obito and Naruto~ 

'_Is this really necessary?'_ Obito questioned, obviously uncomfortable with the idea to proclaim himself to be dead as he watched his favorite little nephew break down ever so slightly – as much as the chibi tried to hide it, he was able to read him very well.

'He needs to understand that he has to keep quiet about us.' Naruto shot back, frustrated with himself. He shouldn't have given in, letting the two talk. Instead, he should have left as soon as possible. No matter that the kid was five years old: he was _Uchiha Itachi_ of all prodigies. Of course, he had to have spotted his chakra by some fluke incident. Damn it.

Well at least he now knew that he would have to be careful with hiding his chakra from the Uchiha and Hyuga clans.

Obito twitched uncomfortably as he felt the frustration of his mental partner and subtly tried to gain once again control over their shared body. Naruto didn't put up a fight at all, but kept brooding nonetheless.

It unnerved the Uchiha slightly, having seen him deep in thought before but never actually brooding of all things.

"**Why are you surprised gaki? You should know by now that when you try to place a limit on your actions that you always go over them, positive and negative."** The fox grumbled, putting in his two cents.

'_Oh go and clean your fur or something._' Naruto shot back with a huff.

Rolling his eyes as the two started arguing, with Naruto acting more like his usual loud self, Obito focused on his little nephew who was thinking really hard to understand what Obito was saying.

"Uchiha Obito is dead." It hurt to hear his favorite little brat say those words out loud with the choke-filled voice he had.

Not even thinking about his actions, he drew closer to his nephew. Itachi started slightly when Obito took a few steps closer to him, crouched down and then slowly encircling his arms around the young boy, causing him to tense.

"For now." Obito whispered under his breath, waiting for Itachi to relax his body. It took longer than he had expected though, which worried him. What had happened to his cute little academy student cousin?

"For now." He repeated, squeezing the boy. "That doesn't mean that you can't make a new friend."

They stood there for a while before Itachi spoke up. "You can let go now."

Obito smirked. "Who said that I want to let go?"

"Obito-nii…"The exasperated tone made the older Uchiha feel slightly better. "Let go."

"Not before you hug me back."

Itachi glared at him as he realised that he had been tricked.

"Aww don't act like you don't like it _Ita-Chibi_!" He emphasised the last nickname.

"Don't call me that!" Itachi protest.

Obito just laughed.

With a sufferable sigh, the young boy wrapped his arms around his waist and hugged him back. He quickly drew back again, though there was a tiny bit of reluctance in his actions. The one-eyed boy smirked when he felt the boy push against his grasp.

"Aaaand…before you promise me something."

Itachi glared up at him for tricking him. "Last condition before releasing me?"

"Yes." Obito agreed with a grin, but Itachi didn't look convinced.

"Promise?"

Rolling his eye, Obito let out a sigh. "Promise."

"Well… what kind of promise do you want me make?" The academy student asked, subtly snuggling back in his arms. Chuckling, Obito ruffled his hair.

"I need you to keep our meeting, Obito's existence and my existence, the connection between us - which doesn't exist by the way." He shot the boy a pointed look. "The fact that we know each other, that you have seen me before and…" He was cut off as Itachi slabbed his hand over Obito's mouth. "I get it O- err… Nii-san?"

Obito let out a muffled chuckle. Itachi didn't pull his hand away though, which brought another mischievous glint into his eyes. Itachi was about to pull away his hand when he saw it appear but he was too late.

"Eww…"He cried and rubbed the saliva on his hand from Obito's tongue using Obito's scarf, who just laughed at him.

"No seriously Itachi-kun." He told the boy, his face shifting into one that matched his words. "Keep quiet about me, alright. This is our little secret. Don't even tell your family." He told the boy with a stern look. "Not even my Aunt and Uncle. Not even your teammates OR the ANBU. The Hokage knows about me, but you need to be quiet about me to everyone else."

"Fine, I promise." Itachi said, looking him in the eye as he said so.

"Pinkie-promise."

"Nii-san, how old _are_ you?"

"Older and wiser than you, chibi. Don't try to change the subject." Obito chided, tugging playfully on his tiny ponytail.

Sighing, Itachi wrapped his small pinkie around Obito's outstretched one and shook it. "I pinkie-promise with my honor and pride" He seriously stated.

Maybe a little too serious for Obito's liking, but it did the trick.

"Thank you."

Slowly the two stepped away from each other and studied each other and Itachi slowly realized that he probably wouldn't see Obito for a long time.

'We need to go Obito… we still need to release some chakra before other people notice.' Naruto reminded him.

"Take care, Tachi-kun!" Obito told the boy."Remember, don't remember me."

Itachi pushed his hands in his pockets and smirked. "Remember who?" He said, causing Obito to chuckle.

"Oh I taught you well. You make me proud." He winked at the child, who blushed slightly at the compliment before he tried to make his face blank once again. "Ja ne!" He said, turning around.

"Wait!"

He turned to his little cousin, who was looking up in the air to avoid his gaze. "Err…will you… I mean, are you planning to come to my Graduation ceremony when I graduate."

Obito didn't grin this time, but smiled instead. "Of course" He winked as the young boy sweat-dropped at the nickname. " Of course. Now go back home, your mother must be worried."

"Hai!" Itachi agreed brightly as he scampered off.

"Ja ne _Ita-Chibi_!" Obito called out just before Itachi disappeared.

"Don't call me that Nii-san!" Itachi shouted back, causing Obito to smile happily.

As they walked away, Naruto took back over and flashed through the hand seals that would transport them away.

'We will see him around Obito-kun, but it is time to train.'

'_I know. Wait, does that mean more of your chakra?' _

'Not for you, no.'

'_Oh_.' Obito tried not to sound too disappointed.

Reaching the last sign, Naruto released a little bit of chakra to transport, just as he heard- "Obito, what are y…"

The teen was already running though. Naruto kept their body from freezing at the voice, knowing that he needed to slip away this time or they would never be able to step up their training.

'_Wasn't that Sensei?_' Obito commented.

'Yup.'

''_He is not going to like this, right?' _

'Nope.'

'_So are we going to be in trouble aren't we?' _

'Certainly.'

They appeared in the middle of another training ground far into the outer skits of the village that it would be idealistic for training.

Obito hummed. _'Best to make those clones quickly, because sensei will catch up soon. He is kinda very fast.' _

'Kinda?' Naruto echoed with a snort. 'Don't worry, I'm already on it.'

Naruto grinned as he crossed his arms as he charged all his extra chakra, feeling ecstatic that he could do his favorite jutsu once again.

"Tajuu Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

Almost immediately, tiny poofs of smoke formed in the clearing and hundreds of Obito's appeared, waiting for instructions.

"Great! First of all, I want you to keep out of sight and keep silent. Should anyone appear or come to close, release yourself understood?" He received many nods.

Rushing through some quick training instructions, Naruto quickly flashed through his transportation jutsu one more time let himself be carried away to a clearing closer to the one he had previously been on.

He had only been there for about thirty seconds when there was a flash of light and Minato stood in front of him, his arms crossed and glaring at him. Naruto couldn't keep back the gulp that was forming in his throat.

"Eh, hi sensei! What are you doing here? Isn't it a nice day?" He scratched the back of his head.

"We need have a quick talk."

'Need to talk?' Obito and Naruto echoed. Those words didn't sound very promising.

'Even in my days, those words meant that you are doomed.' Kyuubi chuckled oh so helpfully.

Naruto let out a disappointed sigh. 'I was afraid of that.'

~ Minato ~ Two hours later~ 

If Minato had to say so, the talk had gone pretty well. He guessed that Obito now fully realized that he couldn't just run around anymore. It had also given him the opportunity to study his student for any odd behavior as well, but somehow it only seemed that he was becoming more like the old Obito as more time passed.

'Are they actually merging?' He had been hopeful, but Obito had quickly shot that down when he had asked, but revealed that they could work together more. The theory behind it had been interesting, but not enough to calm him.

He had wished that he had more time, but there was an appointment to take care of, so that meant that he would have to leave soon. He would also have to see Kakashi off for his own mission. He was going to be leading his first mission without his presence and some encouraging words would hopefully make him feel slightly better about leaving Obito.

But first, he had another one of his brats to take care of.

"Listen Obito-kun, I know that you don't like being supervised, but you know the circumstances." He told the boy as he hopped from tree to tree towards the Hokage tower.

"Supervised?" His student sputtered. "Babysat you mean! Like you have been doing for the last couple of weeks!"

"We already discussed this Obito; don't make me repeat myself."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, unknown seal, unstable, possibly mentally retarded, possible threat, but the threat is too unknown to let go." Obito drawled, waving his hand around his head in emphasis.

Minato frowned at the tone. He had hoped that Sca – he mentally slapped himself on the head for keeping the personalities once again apart – the more recent Obito wouldn't be so distrustful toward them. Not that he wasn't somewhat right about the situation though.

"It's not like that." He told the boy sternly. 'Though not knowing who has done this to him certainly is part of it.' He admitted.

How unfair it may seem, the only reason why Obito hadn't undergone a more 'strict' protocol so close after the war had ended was because of his close relationship to Minato, his loyal character, Minato's knowledge of the seal that had been in his head and Inoichi backing him up that there was no disloyalty spotted in his mind. Besides, he also was still a child and even the fact that he was an Uchiha and close to Kakashi was an advantage for him.

He was lucky that Konoha was a ninja village that valued their morals so much as they did, or he would have been screwed. Minato smiled, feeling suddenly much more proud of the village that he would soon come to protect to his fullest extent.

The Uchiha sighed tiredly."Minato-senseeeeei… I won't run awaaaay. Can you let me go now?"

"Nope!" Minato said cheerfully, pushing the moody thoughts away. "You might try to run away again."

"Promise I won't."

"As soon as we are out of the forest, I will 'flash' use to the tower. There is no need to waste time."

"But I'm starting to feel like I have to puke." Obito complained, crossing his arms while Minato literally carried him under his arm as if he were a sack of potatoes.

"Then you shouldn't have tried to slip away."

Obito huffed but didn't reply.

"So who is going to _supervise_ me anyway?" He asked, parroting Minato's choice of wording from before.

Minato could only grin widely at the question. "You will have to wait and see."

Obito however, had spotted the wicked grin forming on his sensei's face and craned his neck to take a better look. "Why are you grinning like that?" He asked suspiciously.

He didn't answer the Chuunin, but chuckled instead.

"Sensei?" The boy tugged on his vest. "Even I don't grin like that when I have pranked someone." He voiced, showing an Obito-like curiosity. "Ne, tell me sensei! Please?"

The grin widened even more. "You will come to like him eventually." The blond allowed to slip, before he channeled his chakra and disappearing in a flash with his poor student – "Sensei, wait! Put me down fiiiirr…" – in his arm.

~ Naruto ~ In the Hokage tower ~ 

"Obito, Because I will be gone for a short period of time with the Hokage for some last training sessions, I found someone to keep an eye on you. I would have dumpe… eh, have you looked after by Kushina, but she is momentarily on a mission. She will probably look after you when she comes back, but in the mean time someone else will look after you." Minato ruffled the boy's hair, who glared at him at his little slip.

"Babysit me, you mean." The young teenager grumbled.

"Hehe, it seems like sweet-talking is not going to work Minato-kun." A new voice cut in. The ninja glanced over to glance at Obito. "You called me back from my super-important mission to babysit this brat?" The man asked, turning to the Hokage.

"It is not baby-sitting E…"

"No way!" Naruto cried out as he pointed to the familiar figure that had just stepped into the room. He actually needed to take a deep breath in order for him keep him from hugging the man.

'He's alive.'

'_Wasn't he your se-…?_'Obito asked.

'Yeah.' Naruto echoed absentminded.

The newcomer glanced at Naruto for a moment. "So this is the little gaki who is loud too huh? Doesn't look like much."

"Why you!"

"Obito, be nice." His sensei chided.

"But sensei!" The Uchiha complained, glaring at his father and the Hokage, who were watching the exchange with amused expressions.

The older man huffed. "No respect for your elders these days. Do you even know who you are talking to? I am the legendary Toad-…"

"Yeah, yeah whatever!" Naruto cut him off, unsure whether he would be able to handle his emotions if he were to see his future mentor go through the familiar routine.

"Why you little…"

"Obito." Minato cut in, drawing his attention, his hand rubbing his forehead in annoyance.

"You remember my sensei Jiraiya, one of the Sannin. Sensei, I have told you about Obito-kun."

The two regarded each other openly and Naruto couldn't help but shiver as he for a moment saw a familiar studying glint appear in his sensei's eyes. He was probably already thinking about the seal in his mind then. If there was one thing that his sensei loved, it was puzzles.

Well, besides his books and… research then.

The man certainly looked younger than he remembered him to be. It was weird to see him like this, but no matter how he studied him, he still was the Jiraiya that he had come to know. Should he tell him what was going on? He would be a very valuable source; that was for sure. He was a noble ninja as well. If he really was the Jiraiya that he came to know, then he would certainly trust him with his life.

The time-traveler struggled to keep his emotions under control.

Still, if he didn't dare to tell even his father the truth of what was going on…

'_We could trust him you know.'_ Obito argued. _'I trust sensei with my life as well.'_

'We need to think about this for a while longer.' Naruto agreed. 'We can't tell everyone though. If they for one second doubt us, certainly with the whole 'unstable mentality' going about, we could be locked up and we would have a huge problem.'

"Yo brat, I know you must feel honored and overwhelmed to be in the same room as me, but there is no need to space out." Ero-sensei joked with a laugh.

Snapping out of his thought, Naruto crossed his arms, and huffed. "I don't feel like that at all…Pervert." He muttered under his breath, but Jiraiya's keen ears heard it anyway.

"What was that?" The Sannin asked, grinning broadly. A familiar glint appearing in his eyes.

Uh oh.

'_Why is he looking at you like that_?' Obito questioned him, shivered uncomfortably.

'Damn, I must have shown some recognition. Stupid mouth. 'Naruto realized, mentally hitting himself on the head.

"Nothing." He tried to defend himself, but his traitorous puberty caused his voice to go just a little higher than would be convincing.

"Just so you know boy. I'm not a pervert. I'm a _super_ pervert." The white-haired ninja made another dramatic pose.

He told the boy, patting him on the head. Normally, such behavior would have made Naruto shudder, but he was very familiar with the man. In fact, he was enjoying the feeling of the man ruffling his hair like he had done many times ago during his training trip. He remembered the conversations, the popsicles, the trainings and the annoying 'researches'…

'_Naruto…don't lose track please, I can't take over if you space out.' _

"…ou must have read my first book then! Very sneaky of you. You are a bit too young for that book though, but I can't help that my literature is so entertaining!"

Wait what?

Flushing red – he seemed much more emotional in this teenager's body – he quickly waved his arms in front of him in denial.

"I didn't read a perverted book of yours!"

There was a short silence as he realized suddenly what he had said. "Noooo! I mean…" It was of no use as Jiraiya was already laughing loudly and Minato gave him another 'I will have a talk with you later on.'

"Stupid Ero-s-sannin." He grumbled, catching himself just in time.

"Well, I guess I will have some time to keep an eye of him Minato-kun." Jiraiya told the man, grinning.

The man shot his sensei a glare."Just…" He sighed. "Just… don't corrupt him Sensei."

The Sannin simply grinned. "Have fun on your last training trip future-Hokage-sama. Don't worry, I will keep him safe." He teased the blond man, as he grabbed Naruto's red scarf, pulled him back. Then he turned to the Sandaime. "See you around sensei! I let you a present in your drawer."

"Sensei, please! I can't come with you? I will keep quiet! Just please don't let me…" Naruto pleaded, putting his hands together as he did.

"Now, let's go brat!"

Naruto waved his arms as he was heaved up by his collar and carried away.

"Wait! I can walk! What is wrong with you people-Aahh!" Struggling against the Sannin was useless as he was dragged out of the window after the man.

"Ero-Sannin!"

~ Minato ~

"Why doesn't anyone use the door…?" The Hokage grumbled as he took another drag from his pipe.

The blond didn't pay him much mind, used to the complaints, but instead stared after the pair that disappeared through the window. "I hope I'm not going to regret this…"

The Hokage chuckled. "Jiraiya won't corrupt him more than the boy allows."

"That doesn't make me feel much better." The ninja muttered dryly.

The Hokage chuckled as he stood up. He made a gesture with his hand and a ninja dropped down from the ceiling. "Please keep an eye on everything while we are gone. Let me know if anything happens, especially when it concerns the council." He gave Minato a pointed look.

"I trust that you know to keep quiet about Obito?" He repeated gravely.

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"Good, dismissed." He told the man.

Turning to his future successor, he smiled. "Well, now that is taken care of, let's go. We might even be back in time for you to greet Kushina-chan when she gets back." He told the blond, a knowing look in his eyes.

"Perverts, all of you." The blond complained, but the smirk on his face showed that he was simply amused.

"Well, well, well, maybe there will even be a child in a few months' time hmmn?" Sarutobi prodded with a knowing smirk.

"O-old man!"

The blush on his face though, gave away more than enough.

"Well let's go Minato-kun. We don't want to keep little Namizaki-chan waiting no?"

"No wonder that Ero-sensei is such a pervert." Minato muttered under his breath as he followed the man to the secret training location.

~Naruto~

Meanwhile, somewhere else in Konoha, a certain one-eyed, red-scarfed boy being dragged around momentarily stopped his struggling for a second to-

"Achooo!"

'_Bless you.'_Obito told the boy. _'Someone must be talking about you.'_

Rubbing his nose, Naruto couldn't help but feel surprised. 'How can anyone talk about me?'

'…'

They didn't have a clue.

"Where are we going?" Naruto complained. He leaned head in his hands while he put his elbows on the man's back in an effort to be a little more comfortable.

"The bathhouse! I need to do some research." Jiraiya spoke up jovially, freezing the young Uchiha in place.

What?

'Research?' Obito echoed.

'Peeping! Perverted…' Naruto grumbled, struggling to get off the man's shoulder that he was hauled over.

'_Errr… you know what… I will go and talk with Kyuubi for a while.'_ Obito told him sheepishly and his close mental presence suddenly disappeared.

'Wait what? Traitor!'

"Ero-Sannin! Put me down already!" He demanded, but the white-haired ninja didn't pay him any mind.

He sighed in defeat. Well at least his clones would last a while. So the chakra-control training could start once again. Hmm...Maybe he could even get the pervert to train him, he thought with a smirk. He knew _exactly_ how to convince the man.

'Ho ho, sensei. You won't know what will hit you.' He thought, grinning widely as the ignorant Sannin dragged him along.

**~End Chapter~**

Who was expecting these turn of events? It seems that my mind even tried to cheer me up more than I had expected. I hoped that this managed to cheer you guys up as well - sure there are people out there who have it worse than simply failing a dumb drivers exam.

Also no cliffie-ish ending this time. Aren't I nice? Anyway, please let me know what you think. Feedback is important and motivating for a writer. :)

(and maybe take a look at the fanart after? Link is on my profile)

Next: Minato becomes Hokage. Will Naruto and Obito share their secrets? Will Kushina be able to save poor Obito from Jiraiya? So many possible outcomes and only time will tell.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary**: It is not for nothing that Naruto has gotten the reputation of being the most surprising ninja. As if to keep this reputation, the blond often lands himself in unusual situations that ask for the most unusual solutions. However, after fighting Madara to the bitter end and caught up in a clash of jutsus, waking up in Obito's body and buried under piles of stones was not something even Naruto thought possible. How will Naruto take care of the upcoming threat of Akatsuki and Madara in a past he does not know while starting a new legend for Uchiha Obito?

**Beta:** Thanks to my beloved beta Beloved Daughter for saving my reputation by correcting my grammar mistakes.

Hi wonderful and hopefully patient readers of mine! Oh boy I have been so incredibly busy lately! I finally settled in my new room. I love it to bits, but there are still those small things that are missing. It will take some time getting used too, and much more time will be spend socialising in the real world.

I also got my drivers license! Yes! And I turned 19! Happy belated birthday to me!

But damn I feel so old! I can't believe that these stories are taking so long, but ah well. I still enjoy it and as long as you guys do as well, I will keep writing.

So, of course, I won't abandon these stories. Actually, now I updated this chapter, I hope to add another chapter to a story about Kakashi and Naruto (not yaoi) and then to start part 2 of Make it or Break it.

One thing before you go an read this chapter thought. Because  Animecrzylove (AngelsFallBeforeUs on DA) made this amazing colored version of coloring of Kakashi's and Obito's fight. Here is the link: http:/ angelsfallbeforeus. deviantart. com /art/ and-so-we-meet-296564973 (delete the spaces though). It's awesome.

Anyway, enough babbling. Here is the next chap! – if it somehow turns out more depressing than normal… well… stupid nerves of mine.

Enjoy and please let me know what you think!

Chapter 13

~About a week later ~

Well, besides being forced to go along with the man's frequent visits to the bathhouse, being baby-sat by Ero-sensei certainly proved to be very…interesting, Naruto thought.

Interesting indeed.

Interesting and somewhat uncomfortable as well.

Maybe even a little nostalgic.

He frowned as he felt the man weighing him down to keep him on the ground. A small rock was poking him uncomfortably in his chest, making him twitch in annoyance. He couldn't try to move away easily, as it would only poke him harder.

Naruto's hand pulled at the other hand that was covering his mouth, trying to get the Sannin to release him. He wondered if he should to lick it, but his face scrunched up as he suddenly realized that there might be toad slime on there, which saved him from actually licking the hand at the last moment.

With a more resistant tug, the hand released him, but not without a quick 'Shhh!' being hissed in his ear telling him to be silent.

Naruto tried, but after a few minutes, he had had enough.

His patience might have grown tremendously, but this was just stupid.

"Ne, Ero-sannin…" Naruto spoke up, his nose twitching as the grass tickled his nose.

"Silent brat, we don't to be heard." Said Ero-sannin shushed the young ninja again, still effectively keeping him to the ground by his elbow, preventing him from escaping the bushes they were hiding in.

The one-eyed Uchiha stifled a tired sigh and didn't argue.

'He never changes.' He thought ruefully, silently enjoying the man's familiar antics, how ever odd they may seem.

This wasn't even _that_ strange.

After all, the man above him had thrown him off a freaking cliff once.

The stone was still poking him though, so with a little more effort, Naruto finally managed to shift his weight slightly to lie a bit more comfortable. The tightening of the Sannin's grip on his blood-red scarf was a clear warning not to give away their position, but Naruto wasn't planning to do that.

It felt good to spend some time with the man that he had lost in the future, even though it was in rather… close proximity.

Yet, if Naruto hadn't had past experience with dealing with the Toad Sannin, he would have been seriously creeped out by their current compromising position, he absently decided. In fact, he thought with some bemusement, he would have tried to get away as fast as possible. Being the pervert he was -

'_Will you please stop thinking like that?'_ Obito complained suddenly.

'Huh?' Naruto didn't understand what he was talking about. 'Thinking like what?' He asked, confused.

There was a short awkward silence as Obito didn't reply, before Naruto's eyes mentally widened.

Ooooh.

'Obito?' He drawled with an amused smirk.

"What _were _you thinking about then?' Naruto teased.

Silly Uchiha.

His mental smirk widened as he felt Obito shudder and draw back before he, as casually as possible, cut off the connection between them. Naruto was sure that the Uchiha was suffering from having his mind whisper a few too many innuendos about the thoughts Naruto had been sharing.

However, Obito's reaction actually brought Naruto's attention to his own behavior. The teenage body affected him as well during most situations, but his somewhat more mature mind made it easier to ignore the implications of the current situation.

He was far too happy to see the man alive than to be bothered by it. Not to mention that he had always been surrounded by perverts like the one next to him, so his resistance had grown tremendously over the three years of training.

Also, for a (high ranked) ninja, body contact often not a big deal. In the future, Naruto had had more than a few moments in missions in which he had been very close to a teammate - whether woman or man - in order to hide from his enemies. You had to be able to ignore your inclination for personal space when the situation called for it.

Besides, Jiraiya was the greatest perverted _woman_-lover that he had ever encountered. The sheer thought that... – now he did shudder – was simply impossible.

Still, now that Obito had pointed it out to him… the implications that other people would draw when if they stumbled upon them like this would be rather wrong.

It was starting to become rather disturbing to him now as well.

'Damn it Obito.'

The boy didn't reply.

"They are already gone Ero-Sannin." Naruto commented after a few more minutes of silence.

"Shh! There was a kunoichi between them. You can't be too careful with those. They don't give up hunting you down for at least a day, sometimes even a week." The older ninja whispered. "Though getting a look at her like that would certainly be worth getting punched in the face."

Naruto rolled his eyes and matched the volume of his voice. "Can you at least let me go? I think their wrath would be ten-fold if she finds you 'molesting' as me as well."

The Sannin blinked and he actually seemed to be taken back by that comment. Looking down at the position they were in, Jiraiya's eyes widened, and he immediately let go.

He was privately surprised with the kid's casual reaction to how close he had been holding Naruto. They might have spent a week together already and he might like the kid, but they weren't that close. At least he hadn't thought they were.

'So why did I do that?' Jiraiya wondered. 'I don't remember making the decision to get so close to the kid.'

Had the kid grown on him without him realising?

The current Uchiha barely saw the thoughtful look that flashed across his face, before the Sannin simply hummed in agreement. Acting as if nothing had happened, he brushed off the fact that he had been caught off guard by the comment.

Smiling mentally to himself, Naruto decided to start his plan now that the pervert had been distracted.

"Besides, shouldn't a ninja as strong as you..." Naruto smirked as he saw Jiraiya unconsciously puff his chest as he said it. "...know more than enough tricks not to get hit by a strong Kunoichi?"

"Of course I do." The Sannin defended himself.

"Like invisibility jutsu?"

"Of course."

"Transportation Jutsu?"

The man scoffed.

"Clones and stuff?"

"Well duh."

Naruto made it a point to huff at the clone part and mumbled to himself – just loud enough that he knew the Sannin could barely hear. "Hmpf…Clones can't be that effective."

"Of course they are." Jiraiya cut in, brought out of his superior demeanor.

"I would see right through them." Naruto argued, acting as if he wasn't convinced.

The man glanced at him, actually looking annoyed. "There are enough things that can trick the Sharingan, brat."

"I wasn't talking about the Sharingan." Naruto said, pointedly rolling his eyes. "Besides… only solid closes would be really handy. You know, I intend to make a jutsu like that later on my own. Then I will become famous!" He exclaimed, fighting down his grin by suppressing it to a smirk.

A well-known Uchiha smirk in fact.

'_You know, it is kind of scary that you are better at that smirk than I am._' Obito cut in.

Naruto flinched slightly as he thought about Sasuke. 'I just have a great… example to copy.'

"There are already clones like that." Jirayia told him, not showing any awareness of the conversation between the two. Yet he looked somewhat suspicious and annoyed by the 'Uchiha arrogance' that he hadn't seen from the boy before.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Like solid ones that can fight?"

"_Yes_."

"Ones you can talk to?"

"Yeeeees."

"Can you actually make them?" Naruto made sure he sounded skeptical, though on the inside he was jumping about.

He was so close!

"Of course I can, twirly-eye." The man, knocking him on the head, more forcefully than was necessary.

The Uchiha rubbed his head, glaring at the man. "You're probably just messing with me."

"Don't believe me? Who do you think I am? I am greatest toad Hermit ever kn..." His eyes twitched as noticed that Naruto was staring thoughtfully out in the distance, his cheek on leaning on his arm, not listening to him at all.

"Brat." He growled down at him, pulling him back by his scarf.

Naruto broke out laughing, startling the man with the sudden shift.

"Aw come on Ero-Sannin, If you can't do those so-called-already-existing-clones you can just say so. I wouldn't lose my respect for you – well maybe a bit – but you don't have to go through the whole 'I'm Jiraiya' routine again."

The grey eyes narrowed at the teenager.

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu." He spoke calmly.

_Poof. _

'Yatta!' Naruto mentally celebrated and was soon joined by Obito, who had come back halfway through conversation.

"Wow." Naruto voiced out loud, poking the clone in the arm. "Kage Bushin? So it is not a rock clone?"

"No." The man said, crossing his arms as he smirked. Still his eyes were still studying 'Obito' with some light suspicion.

"Sugoi. Ne!" He turned around, letting his real excitement show through. "Can you teach me?"

"No."

"Aw please?"

"No."

"Aw come on, I will do my best!"

"Forget it brat. If you make a clone like this, it might kill you. I need to hand you back to Minato in one piece… and alive for the matter." He added as an afterthought.

Damn it.

Sighing in disappointment, Naruto knew his ex-future-sensei well enough that he had been serious about what he had said. Obito wasn't known for having chakra capacities large enough to support that kind of jutsu.

Though they had grown, the ninja wouldn't be able to sense Naruto's own chakra, as it was carefully hidden away and the part that did enter the chakra stream was released as soon as possible through Kage bushin.

On the outside, Naruto adopted a slouching posture of defeat.

It wasn't like he really need Jiraiya to teach him – he knew the jutsu after all – but he needed an excuse to be able to use it other situations. Having been taught by the Sannin of all people would give him the perfect opportunity.

"Should have had my Sharingan on." He sighed. 'Then I could at least have an excuse to be caught with it.'

"_What did you say?" _The Sannin said coldly.

It wasn't a question and Naruto cringed mentally as he identified Jiraiya's tone. He was not happy.

How could he have forgotten - ignored the fact - that Jiraiya had a knack for hearing soft voices and whispers? There was a reason why he was a spymaster.

"Well then I could have tried it on my own." He quickly defended himself and made sure to pout – he was still young enough to be forgiven…somewhat.

Though Naruto had expected the punch, it still hit harder than he had anticipated.

That was going to leave a bruise.

"You think that you can just copy everything don't you? Here I thought you might be a little different than that clan of yours. I don't know why Minato is so proud of you."

The words hurt more than Naruto had anticipated as well.

_'I'm not like that!'_

Not having expected anything but feeling hurt, the time-traveler was surprised with the anger he suddenly felt. Obito shifted forwards as well, feeling even more frustrated and angry with the man for hurting his pride.

Naruto didn't even pause to go along with the impulses, having gotten used to it and noticing that Obito's control suddenly became more influential than before.

"_What_?" The Uchiha growled as he pushed himself from the ground, not taking note of his sudden increase in control. Instead, he glared at the Sannin, allowing his fury to shimmer through. His Sharingan flashed for a moment before it disappeared.

"Clan of mine? Now listen to me, old man! I have learned everything my whole life the normal way! I actually haven't copied any jutsu with my eye yet! I wasn't going to quit working for my jutsu, but it doesn't help if nobody is willing to teach me anything!"

"Not willing to tea..." The man started, but Obito didn't listen to him.

"Minato-sensei was and is far too busy! Everyone is! Before the.." He momentarily blanked out, remembering the horrible feeling of his bones being crushed under- he forcefully shook the memories off.

"…accident, he was too focused on Kakashi getting Jounin level! Rin was too busy with training at the Hospital and helping out because of that damn war, but I managed to drag them along for sparring once in a while. I never complained about them being busy! I understood that Kakashi was more important than me in the war. No matter how much I despised it. Even though the clan barely wanted to teach me anything except for the fire jutsu that we are all taught because I was a _loser_! The rest was just to make sure I didn't completely destroy their reputation. They said I wasn't strong enough to know more than barely the average." He spat.

Naruto couldn't quite put his finger on the expression that flashed across the Sannin's face, but Obito ignored it.

"Now I am being looked after as if I'm a freaking ticking bomb! Baby-sat." He waved his arms between the two of them. "...and scrutinized simply for having somehow managed to get out of there without even knowing how and _fine_! I have a seal and two personalities in my head." He admitted as he saw the Sannin open his mouth.

"I'm now without a family! I can't even go to my Aunt and Uncle! I can't go and talk to my little nephew! They all think that I'm dead!"

Obito pointedly ignored the white lie that he just told, too busy with ranting to the man in front of him. He didn't yell. His tone was simply sharp and soft, as if keeping in mind the fact that they were hiding. Though many people believed otherwise, a whisper was often far better received than shouting, seeing as people were forced to pay more attention to what you were saying.

"People won't even let me train! I might as well have died..." Obito didn't finish that sentence, not sure if he really meant it, but it startled the Sannin anyway. "I _need_ to get stronger! I want to get stronger! The last mission went so wrong! I should have seen it coming! I should have… Had I been one second too late, Kakashi would have..." Naruto took a deep breath as Obito shifted back and he felt himself becoming slightly too emotional. Obito though was feeling exactly the same and it wasn't helping.

"Everything can go wrong." He finished for the boy, thinking about the dangers ahead.

'_Sorry.'_Obito said, realizing that he had just caused them to rant to his partner's beloved sensei.

'No, I get it. I'm sick of all of this as well. Besides, Ero-Sensei can be stupid like that.'

'_Want to switch again? You could withdraw for a while.'_

'No you need it mor...'

Naruto was caught off guard as he was hit on the back of his head. Gently this time.

"Stop spacing out Gaki." Jiraiya chided.

…Gaki. He had often called Naruto a Gaki in the future.

Acting like nothing happened, he shot the man a determined glance. "You know what? Whatever! I will make my own solid clone jutsu! You just wait!"

Jiraiya seemed to be taken back by something – maybe his expression, who knew –but Naruto didn't really care anymore.

It seemed like he had to prove himself to the man again.

Well he was going to get the surprise of his life!

He was about to say something else when a shout from a woman cut him off. "Pervert! I know you are here!"

Said Pervert froze.

Naruto turned around and walked away, but paused as his scarf was grabbed. He glared at the man, before he pointedly put his finger against his lips, threatening to yell if he didn't let go.

Jiraiya weighed the decision for a moment before he released him. Without looking back at the man, Naruto turned around and stomped off louder than necessary–"There you are! Hey! Coward!" - knowing that Jiraiya would follow him eventually. In the meantime, thoughts were swirling through his mind.

He was going to show that perv!

Still…

'How to improve the Kage Bushin no Jutsu?'

The Uzumaki wasn't really a newbie when it came to inventing his own jutsu. Take his Henge for example, the large amount of chakra that he used actually shaped and somewhat changed him, instead of being a mere illusion. Sexy No Jutsu had been the prime example. Ebisu-perv hadn't just passed out from _seeing_ the image of being surrounded by sexy woman…

Naruto frowned. This was different though.

'_So you are going to change the jutsu?'_

'Yes! I'm going to show that Ero-baka-sensei!'

'Do we really have time for that?'

Naruto's expression became more serious. 'Actually, more sturdy clones is just what we need. Even more important, if we somehow get you out there…'Obito's eyes widened in surprise. '...we would be able to fight against Madara more efficiently.'

Obito stayed silent for a while, trying to grasp the concept.

'It was a pet project of mine in the future, so I know the basics, but the clones were never sturdy enough. I couldn't find the right way to create one… there was always something missing...nor did I have enough chakra control.' Naruto continued to explain to the Uchiha, before he was taken aback by a rush of excitement from the boy.

'_So how are you going to start?'_

'By cancelling my clones and the...'

'_They already cancelled.'_ Obito told him, waving the issue away, clearly eager to learn more about his plan.

Naruto paused mid-step.

"What?"

'_They already cancelled about half an hour ago. They got a lot of training done by the way, but they had to poof away because people were getting too close._' Obito impatiently explained, wanting to find more about this whole clone thing.

He might be able to interact with people this time!

Naruto frowned as he realized that he _did_ indeed have the memories of the clones. In fact, he had even clearer memories than he usually had.

Normally, he would be more aware of the transition of the memories. This time however, he hadn't even noticed receiving them. Making hundred clones and releasing them in one go would usually give him a huge headache –which he often hid or suppressed before it would be healed by Fuzzball.

Another plus was that they were often destroyed after one another. During a fight, he had taught himself to let most of the memories slide by except for the more important parts.

Now, he was more aware of the training that they had done than before.

Why?

'Did you do something?'

'_Well it was very odd, there was suddenly a rush of memories so I had to order them very quickly. I wasn't sure what else to do so I kind of pushed them into a couple of trees. I hope that you aren't ma...' _Obito said, sounding somewhat nervous.

'Sugoi!' Naruto cut him off.

'_Huh?'_

'Obito you are awesome!' He continued to gush.

The Uchiha blinked, confused.

'_Wha...'_

'Now since my memories are clearer my chakra control must be...' He shivered slightly as he felt that his chakra control had improved more than he had expected.

His excitement returned ten-fold. 'Obito I love you!'

Seeing as chakra control was essential for improving one's endurance, this was far better than learning more jutsu. Basically, if you had good chakra control you could compromise for your lack of skills in other area much easier. Sakura's punches were a prime example of having perfect chakra control.

Naruto shook with excitement as he became aware of the possibilities that he could explore. He suddenly felt like he was a step closer to getting this body ready for the confrontation that would come.

'_Ehh_!' The Uchiha shuffled away, not knowing what he was planning.

'Now I only have to find a way to keep the clones stable for a longer period of time. Maybe a few that can take more hits.' Naruto frowned. 'I don't have much time though. I only have about nine months left. This sucks.'

'_About nine?' _Obito suddenly echoed, as if something occurred to him.

'Yeah the Kyuubi attack remember?' Naruto shot back, annoyed with the idea that he might have forgotten.

'_No of course I didn't forget! It's just that...'_

"What?"

'_Well…' _Obito stalled, before deciding to change the topic._ 'Ne, about that jutsu...'_

"Don't change the topic! Tell me already." Naruto huffed, crossing their arms.

'_Well nine months and all… you know.'_

Naruto growled. 'Can you be even vaguer?'

'_Youwerebornthatnightright?' _Obito rushed.

'…'

Naruto, being used to talking very fast himself, didn't have too much trouble to decipher the sentence.

'I mean Sensei and Kushina were kind of…'Obito shook his head, not wanting to think about it.

'…' Naruto's mind blanked out when he realized that Obito was implying.

'Noooooo! My pure thoughts!' Naruto wailed, mentally pulling on his hair.

Obito's amusement took over his own mixed feelings and he snickered. 'Well don't you _want_ to be born?'

"Oh shut up!" Naruto growled, shuddering. 'You were the one that starte-'

"Talking to your other self isn't very healthy." A familiar voice piped up right next to his ear.

Reflexes kicked in and Naruto swirled around, kunai in hand.

"Nice reflexes." The Sannin complimented casually as he brushed the kunai away with a finger, as if he hadn't been about to be stabbed in the eye with it.

Naruto hn-ed.

"Even though you have the proper background, brooding surprisingly doesn't suit you."

"What would you know about me?" Naruto argued, feeling his annoyance rise again.

'I don't brood!' He complained.

'_Well you do sometimes.' _Obito objected carefully.

'I do not!'

'_Well…'_

"There you go again brat. It isn't healthy for you to keep talking to yourself like that."

"Not you as well." Naruto complained. Everyone tried to tell him to stop talking to Obito. It wasn't like they understood.

Naruto attempted to walk away.

Jiraiya followed him without a pause and frowned at him. "Well if more people tell you this it might be true."

"Nobody gets it. " Naruto sighed, moving his hand through his hair.

He felt so tired and wary about this whole situation.

"Maybe that's because you don't tell anyone."

Naruto turned around and locked his gaze with the man that looked so very much like the man that he travelled with: the Sannin that he had come to love and respect as the great teacher that he was – when he wasn't being a huge pervert.

It was that moment that Naruto realized this was the perfect opportunity to tell the man next to him everything. Everything from the beginning till the end. He opened his mouth.

"Actually…"He paused. 'Is this really the right time?'

'_Are you going to tell him?'_

'What if he doesn't believe me? What if they lock us up thinking that we are crazy?'

'_They sure wouldn...'_

'What if they pry into our mind in order to get more info on the future?'

'_They wouldn't.'_

Naruto couldn't help but have his doubts. He had seen worse decisions being made in the future.

What has someone told him once? '_The road to hell is paved with good intentions.'_

"Yes brat?"

Naruto made the decision anyway.

"It just that..."

"Obito!" The call was far away, but it had caught their attention anyway.

They turned to see Rin running towards them. "You were supposed to lunch with me remember?" She chided, shooting him an annoyed glare. "You never forget! I was worried that something happened to you."

Naruto wasn't listening. 'Damn it to hell.' He growled. 'Just when I could tell him…'

Jiraiya shot the boy next to him a puzzled look before it was replaced with a more familiar leering grin. "Well, well, well… you got yourself a date?"

Naruto started, which effectively brought out of his sour mood.

"I don... It's not a..." The Uchiha stuttered, a blush starting to form. He slowly backed away.

Jiraiya would have none of it.

"I see! Well, let's go brat! We can't keep a pretty lady waiting!" The Sannin proclaimed and slung the boy on his shoulder once again.

"What? No! Let me go! What is wrong with you! I can walk damnit!" Naruto protested, punching the Sannin's back.

"Rin-chan! Help!"

Why did they keep doing that?

The girl smiled widely at him, her face obviously brightened by his suffix. He hadn't called her that often since he had returned and it warmed her heart to hear the endearment. She was so caught up in her joy that she completely ignored his plea of help.

"Rin-_chan_?" Jiraiya echoed, patting his bum teasingly. "I see."

"Wha-sto-Stupid Er-urg Aaargh!" Naruto cried out, unable to properly express himself in his current predicament.

Obito wisely decided to focus on Rin.

By the time that Naruto had stopped broo- 'I don't brood!'- finally collected himself, Jiraiya was already walking and inquiring Rin about her training progress in the hospital.

"Could you please let me go?" Naruto tried.

He was promptly ignored by the two of them.

Naruto sighed and sadly glanced at the Sannin, realizing that the moment was gone.

'Still would I have actually told him?' He thought, slumping forward in defeat.

He would probably never know.

He would tell him later... maybe.

~Three days later~

"I must hand it to you brat, you are very determined." Jiraiya suddenly spoke up with a hint of respect from the place that he watching the teenager train.

Seeing as he was under the man's scrutiny during his training, Naruto wasn't able to show any flashy chakra skills, but that was why he and Obito had made sure to make a whole new batch of clones a few days ago. For now, he would just have to work on using his improving chakra control to be able to perfectly _mould_ the clone that he was planning to make.

At the moment, said clone was currently twitching like crazy on the ground and actually didn't look very much like a human at all. It hadn't been very solid either.

It poofed out of existence not even a second after having been made.

Damn.

Wiping the sweet from his forehead, Naruto let himself sit down for just a moment.

"Why isn't it working?" He grumbled to himself.

"You don't have enough chakra for it." Jiraiya spoke up, helpfully, without looking up from his notepad.

'Yes I have.' Naruto kept silent, knowing very well that telling the man that he had a huge amount of spiritual chakra ready to be used at any moment wouldn't be very good for his suspicious image.

"I will figure it out!" He protested instead, causing the Sannin to regard him pensively for a moment.

"Well fine. One Kage bushin… maybe you could manage it, but inventing a whole new type of solid clone takes so much more chakra than that Gaki."

"Just wait and see!" Naruto told the man, who shook his head at his irrational behavior.

'I'm so close!' He complained.

'_Close?' _Obito replied sullenly. '_We haven't been able to produce a clone with normal arms and legs yet.'_

'Are you giving up?'

'_No!' _Obito denied, crossing his arms. _'But I hoped that we might be able to meet up with Ita-Chibi quick instead.'_

"What if I teach you the Kage Bushin Gaki?" Jiraiya suddenly spoke up.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise as he turned to the man and mentally narrowed his eyes.

What if.

The man was testing him.

"Then I would learn it and make my own still." He stated with determination, not falling for it.

The man stared at him for a moment, before he grinned at the teenager.

"You know what?" He said, clearly amused. "_If_ you manage to figure out how to produce _one_ solid clone on your own, I will teach you a jutsu besides the Kage Bushin."

"More."

The Sannin frowned and shot the Chuunin a glare. "More? The fact that I'm even offering to teach you one..."

"More clones." Naruto elaborated. "I'm going to make hundreds!" Naruto grinned at the man, feeling very confident on the matter seeing as he was more than aware of the chakra that would be available to him.

The white-haired man seemed caught off guard.

"Dreaming is good kid." He started slowly. "But maybe you are overdo..."

"I'm going to do this Ero-sensei!" The Uchiha shot the man a determined look who blinked at his new suffix. "And then you are going never going to be able to teach me as much jutsu as I can make clones!" He proclaimed, laughing as he turned back to this intense training, knowing that time was ticking.

'How are the clones doing?'

'Good. Team one still has enough chakra for the water walking exercise for a few hours. Team two is going through a couple of methods to make them stronger. Combining them with earth seems like a possible theory that might work. Team 3...'

Naruto and Obito were far too busy to notice the thoughtful eyes that were boring into their back.

"Maybe." The Sannin muttered, before smirking. "Maybe I will."

~ One week later ~

'_The clones cancelled themselves again.' _Obito pointed out.

'Again?' Naruto repeated in dismay. This was the tenth time this week!

'I seriously need a better training spot.' He told Obito, who nodded in agreement.

'_If you didn't have a clone on the look-out with the awesome chakra you have we would have been in deep trouble.'_ The boy agreed.

'Well you are glad that I'm so awesome.' Naruto teased him, mentally puffing out his chest.

Obito laughed at his silliness.

'Still if I could just get that damn chakra-thing to work out.' Naruto grumbled. 'Then I could stop hiding them and become more effective.'

Obito nodded in agreement.

'_Can I train now?_' Obito then asked, eager to get some control again.

Naruto, having been very aware of how restless Obito had been, shifted back ever so slightly. Obito still couldn't control the body on his own, it would barely make baby steps if he did. Naruto tried to encourage his partner that it was a lot of improvement, but Obito couldn't help but feel annoyed by the slow process.

'_It's just…I want to be able to _move_ you know?_' He had told Naruto._ 'In the real world, not just the mindscape.'_

Kyuubi had loudly and pointedly whole-heartedly agreed with that comment, which had caused both boys to flinch ever so slightly.

Having practiced this many times before, Obito didn't take long to shift to their usual arrangement of… well one could call it sharing thoughts and intentions.

'Try to use some chakra' Naruto piped up.

'_Alright. Let's start easy.'_ Obito thought, feeling somewhat nervous about actually controlling his own chakra.

Naruto didn't even pause to follow them and went through the hand seals that the boy directed.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

It was almost natural for the Uchiha to use the jutsu, but instead of the natural color that they had been expecting, it turned slightly yellow and had a _far_ larger range than expected.

Caught off guard, Obito barely managed to keep himself from inhaling his own flames. Coughing, he waved away the smoke that appeared along with it and stared with wide eyes at the burning grass. "That was..."

'That was the natural chakra's doing.' Naruto filled in for the boy. 'We are absorbing it faster because our control is improving.'

'_Sugoi.' _Obito thought, gagging as he realized that he may have inhaled some smoke.

'Also it seems that your chakra control is far greater than mine.' Naruto continued.

'Really?'

'Yes. In fact maybe we cou...'

As seemed to be a habit, just as their conversation became important, it was disrupted by a visitor.

"Bito-kun!"

Obito spun around upon hearing the loud greeting and was promptly tackled by a red blur. It took him only a moment to realize who had just attacked him. It was nearly impossible for him forget her. Naruto seemed to have concluded the same as he felt his body freeze to the point that it nearly hurt.

'Naruto?' Obito called out. 'Naruto snap out of it!'

"Mom." Naruto breathed.

"Obito-kun? What did you say something?" The woman asked, still hugging him firmly.

"No-nothing." Naruto stuttered, openly staring at the woman in front of him. He had already met her of course, but she was now in front of him. Real. Breathing. Alive...

For a moment, he clung to her. "I just... I haven't seen y..." The woman's future son was suddenly pulled back and Obito struggled in an effort to remain standing.

'Damn it Naruto!'

The woman didn't notice their inner conflict and laughed. "Of course. Silly me. I shouldn't have scared you. It's just…" She pulled away from him and brushed a tear away from her eye. "I through that you were… well you know."

Obito numbly nodded, unable to do anything else since Naruto was still pretty much in shock.

The Uchiha was happy to see Kushina as well, he like the woman very much. She had become more like a mother to him in certain aspects. She always invited him over to her house and to eat dinner if the clan issues became too much and she always encouraged his enthusiasm. Naruto's reaction, while understandable, was making it difficult to move. Naruto really had to snap out of it because Obito was getting worried.

Kushina suddenly frowned and held him a little tighter.

A shiver ran down Obito's spine.

Oh no.

_Kyuubi. _

Did she notice something?

"Are you sure that you are alright Obito?" There was something about her tone that made him paranoid.

It took a little more effort to nod this time.

"Is something wrong?"

Shaking his head was becoming more difficult. 'What is happening?'

"Obito! You are not alright! Snap out of it!" Kushina called out, shaking him more forcefully this time. "Where is Jiraiya?" She asked forcefully and worriedly, feeling unsure on whether to get him to the hospital or to get the pervert.

"At the river." Obito managed to mutter, shifting his eye to the right into the direction he knew the pervert was… researching.

Just after having relayed the location, Obito lost control and he felt his body fall forward. His momentum hadn't been centered, causing Obito to collapse against the woman in front of him. In panic, Obito let his eye roll to the back and went into his mindscape to search for Naruto.

~Mindscape~

"Naruto!"

"Over here." Came the shaky voice. "Sorry there were a lot of memories."

Even though the young man seemed strained, there was a happy glint in the ninja's eye. Obito felt somewhat relieved that Naruto had been able to see the memories of his mother, seeing as he had always had had a lot of fun with her. He deserved a little break every once in a while, Obito thought. No matter that the future might depend on it, if Naruto was going to push himself too far, they would be in bigger trouble. No he was going to make sure to keep an eye out for him.

"She's a great woman." Obito agreed. "Are you sure that you are alright?"

"Yeah. We will have to seal me to you soon though."

"But you said that I didn't haven't enough control of the body yet." Obito argued, worried.

"In about a week… I'm probably… well you know." Naruto told the boy, referring to the fact that his birthday was nearly 9 months away.

"It would probably be better to seal me to you now, than to get in danger of being called to the infant's body."

Obito nodded in understanding before snorting.

"What?"

"No, I just thought about you fighting Madara as a baby." Obito said, shooting his scarred mirror image a grin.

Naruto rolled his eyes, but his lips twitched, unable to repress the smile completely.

The two of them sat silently for a while before Naruto spoke up again, grinning loudly. "You know. She's even more beautiful in real life. "

Obito grinned widely at him, glad that the older ninja had calmed down. "Wanna go back? She's probably chewing out the perv for leaving you there."

"Ah right. Sorry about leaving you hanging by the way."

"Don't worry about it Nii-san."

Naruto stared at him for a moment as Obito's eyes widened in surprise. "I mean…I..." He twitched.

"Don't worry about it. Thanks!" Naruto said, looking even brighter than before.

"You're welcome. Ehm… I will see how Fuzzy is holding up." He told the blond.

"**Who are you calling Fuzzy you ugly little bald..." **A deep voice growled.

"Ah I see Fuzzball is awake again!" Obito said brightly, having gone long past the stage of being frightened to interact with the demon fox. The fact that said demon had decided that the Uchiha was not that bad in comparison to his other relatives seemed to help.

Not that it made their name-calling less frequent. If anything, it only made it worse seeing as Obito dared to talk back.

"**You little punk! You should learn some respe..."**

Naruto shook his head in amusement, took a deep sigh and allowed himself to slip aback to consciousness.

'Act normally. You can space out later.' He told himself.

~Back to reality~

"...Baka! You can't leave him unsupervised! Something was wrong with him! You and your stupid perverted book!" He slowly became more aware of the loud voice chiding the old man that seemed to be careful to remain very quiet.

"Kushina?" He called out, feeling somewhat disorientated.

"Obito-kun!" Naruto steadied himself as he felt himself being hugged by his mother.

"I'm alright. I just… blacked out for a moment." He assured her. "Some memories sprung up on me."

There was a long silence as Kushina blinked down at him.

"Memories?" She echoed, before sending Jiraiya a glare as if it was his fault. "What is going on here?"

Jiraiya held his hand up in surrender. "Now Kushina-hime there is really no need to look at me like that."

"Then explain to me what I have missed!"

The two boys didn't take long to follow her order. Fifteen minutes and a summary later, the 'Tomato' sported a frowning expression.

"I see, but how the hell did you get out?"

"I don't know." Naruto said, glad that the seal covered this in order to make his admission sincere. He didn't think he could have lied to his mother face to face otherwise.

She eyed him suspiciously for a moment. "So that seal in your mind, has the Hentai looked at it yet?"

"No he hasn't."

"Why not?"

"I'm right here." Jiraiya grumbled.

"Well Inoichi-san can't risk visiting my mind too often… that is all I know."

"Hey." Jiraiya called, trying to get their attention.

"Can I see it as well?"

"I don't think so." Naruto said, scratching his neck. "D- err.. Minato-sensei tacked along last time. I don't know how many people can go."

"Inoichi will pick your brain in a few days again. I will be tagging along this time."

Naruto swirled around and stared at the Toad Sannin. 'Shit.'

There was a reason why Naruto had started the seal with the help of the Sannin. He was the one that had taught him nearly everything that he knew. He had the experience to see what was going on with the seal. Minato had already been a risk on its own, but he had luckily missed the second layer. However, Jiraiya would surely notice.

"Why you?"

"Why so nervous?" The tone seemed teasing, but the look in the man's eyes told him something else.

"Because you are a pervert!" Naruto defended, saying the first thing that came to mind.

"I can't corrupt you when you are already corrupted brat." Ero-sensei told him, rolling his eyes, but the glint in his eyes disappeared.

"Already corrupted?" Kushina repeated, sending Obito a pointed look. "What does he mean by that?"

Both men started sweating.

"Nothing." They chorused.

She obviously didn't believe them, but decided to let the topic go for this once. Instead she glared at them suspiciously for a moment before she pulled Naruto in another hug. "It's good to have you back Bito-kun."

"Thanks." He thanked her, though he tensed when he felt another spark at her contact.

Was Kyuubi number two reacting to him? Did Kushina notice? She didn't seem to notice, Naruto thought, studying her expression.

He would have to be very careful around her, but nonetheless he would enjoy every moment of it.

~Two days later ~

"I got it!" Naruto exclaimed as he and Obito stared at the stars in their mindscape. Obito, with whom he had been talking about what the stars might actually represent in their mind, started.

"You know what the stars are?"

"Let's wake up fuzzy!" Naruto exclaimed, grabbing the Uchiha by the arm and dragging him along. "Come on!"

Obito frowned. "Does Kyuubi know what they are?"

"No, no not the stars! The clones!"

Obito groaned. "Naruto-nii-san you have tried hundreds of methods already. Not to mention all those clones that you let experiment!"

"Shut up! I finally got it! Hi Kyuubi!"

The fox snored loudly.

"Stop faking Foxi-kun, we know that yo..."

"_**What did you call me?"**_

"See you are awake! Now can you help us with..."

"**Why can't you brats understand how powerful I am? I am the feared..."**

"You are as bad as Ero-sensei." Naruto pointed out, crossing his arms.

"**You dare to compare me with that senile perverted smelling slimy monkey?"**

Naruto growled. "Don't Ero-sensei senile, you big..."

Obito sighed as he watched them bicker from the side-lines. "I can't believe that I'm getting used to having sensei's future time-travelling son and the most powerful demon fox bickering in my mind." He muttered to himself and sat down on the ground.

'Might as well enjoy it.' The Uchiha thought as he watched them argue.

He winced when Kyuubi shot a big insult to Naruto, resulting in the ninja shooting another one back.

This might take a while.

~ A few days later ~

"**You brats are lucky that I decided to help you on this."**

"Yeah, yeah whatever."

**"Insolent gaki! If I hadn't supplied you with this inspiration your tiny brain would have never thought of it."**

His fist clenched around the handle of the kunai.

"Nearly there." He encouraged himself, as he wiped away the sweat dripping down his forehead with the back of his sleeve.

"Focus your chakra again Obito, but in a greater amount this time. If necessary, use nearly seventy percent. Try to ignore my chakra."

'_Hai._' Obito's strained voice answered_. 'I'm ready.'_

Cutting himself once again, Naruto poured the small pool of blood on the stone in front of him and focused on his chakra – more specifically a mix of his natural chakra and Obito's controlled chakra - as he put his hand into the small puddle. The advantage of his obsessive use of Kage Bushin's was that he actually didn't rely as much on the hand seals anymore. They would make it very easy to focus, but it was more about intention than anything else. A habit maybe.

There wasn't a poof of smoke. Instead there was a hiss as the blood started boiling. He quickly retracted his hand in order to save it from getting burned. He watched with cool and calculating eyes as the blood started to morph into a body, increasing the amount of blood in the process. His eyes narrowed as the clone that had formed stood silently in front of him, waiting to be inspected. After having spent years of training through extensive use of clones, they had come far. It was exhausting, but definitely worth it.

"Move." Naruto ordered the clone, not wanting to destroy it by poking it first thing.

The clone – an exact replica of himself – followed the order and started walking in a small circle in front of him, ran for a short distance and jumped a few times.

"Speak."

"Hai…Err… what would you want me to say Nii-san?"

"That would be enough." Naruto said, feeling his excitement rising. "How are you feeling?"

"Not like I'm going to explode for once." Obito the second grinned. He flexed his muscles. "I feel good. I could take a few hits I think."

"Well, that is the whole idea." Naruto told him with some fake arrogance and then bowed curtly. "Nice to talk to you in real life Obito."

"Nice to meet you as well." Obito grinned before playing along and bowed as well. "It feels strange to share my mind with you and yet be in this chakra body though. I feel…odd."

Naruto held out his hand and the Obito clone neared, knowing what Naruto was going to look for.

Naruto carefully squeezed his hand, shoulder, poked him and prodded for a few mintues before he finally grinned.

"Yata!" He whispered to himself, careful to remain quiet.

Obito echoed him with the same excitement. "This is so...!"

"Shhh!" Naruto hushed him. He didn't want to draw the attention of the others.

'Why aren't you telling them?' Obito asked, suddenly confused.

"I have a plan to give us an excuse of having a layered seal."

"How?"

"Well, another ninja did it."

"…"Obito sweat dropped.

"What?"

"_That's _your plan?"

"What's wrong with it?"

"Well, for one, we don't have another ninja to tell them he or she did it. Second, why don't we just tell them? Third…"

"Use henge." Naruto interrupted him.

Obito blinked. "Henge? Really?"

"Your whole body consists of blood – my blood - and chakra. Blood is a very good chakra conductor, so in a way your Henge is simply a transformation. You change the form of the chakra. They can't see through it because that is simply what you are."

"Cool…"

Maybe this was going to work after all. The plan was shaky and would need work, but there was still hope. They grinned.

"Obito?" Kushina's voice called out from the distance.

"Quick! Cancel the clone!" Naruto hissed, hearing Kushina coming closer as she was looking for him.

"I can't!"

Naruto tried to do it himself, but it didn't work. "What the hell?"

"Hit me!"

Thud!

"Wow this is awesome." Obito told Naruto dizzily from where he laid on the ground, referring to the ability to take multiple hits. "I'm still here though."

"Run then! Go to the clones!"

"H-hai!" Obito stuttered, rushing away.

"Obito?"

Naruto opted his best innocent expression. "Hai?"

"Who was that?" Kushina asked, staring in the direction where Obito had disappeared to.

"Eh… just some weird ninja?" It was more a question then a statement.

The woman's eyes narrowed. "You just talked to him?"

"He was saying strange things. Like I should know him or something." Naruto told her, scratching his cheek.

"Really?"

"Yeah, he kept asking question. I told him to bugger o- err to leave. Then he went away when he heard you call me."

Kushina frowned at him and gave him a pointed look. "Is that so?"

'Aw man, not that look!' Naruto mentally shuddered.

He was so screwed.

**~End chapter ~**

Viola! Another loooong chappie done! Maybe I should start cutting them in half (update more frequently and shorter chaps).

Please let me know what you think? I want to get a good start for writing again and it would motivate me a lot, I assure you!

Till next time!

~Dreamyin


	14. Chapter 14

**WARNINGS THIS CHAPTER WILL HAVE SPOILERS for the Naruto manga 599! **

You M'am or Sir, are quite brilliant by even getting back to read this story after quite some time of absence.

I'm late. I'm sorry. But for some reason I'm slightly glad I did, because hearing about this new manga 599, it got me inspired all over again. Warning for you guys, things may get complicated. I'm sure I will get confused myself loads of times. I might even have to change things if it doesn't work out.

I might also make some alteration on different previous chapters, just because having reread the story, I find that there are some things that just don't seem to fit in anymore. There are also plenty of grammar mistakes that I and my Beta missed. I will warn you if any important changes will be made – which most likely won't happen.

Anyway, I hope that you guys like the new turnabout. Or my writing-burst will be in vain haha.

Please, if you have any clue or solid theories about the how and why on chapter 599, I would love to hear it. I don't believe it is really Obito himself… seeing as Kakashi meets Obito – and the rest of his team – just before he comes back to life. Of course, that could be his imagination and all, but Obito's thumbs up seemed just… I don't know. So maybe a Orochimaru is being pulled off on his body or something? Like a "good luck Kakashi." I guess time will tell.

I don't read the manga anymore, but after a comment about it from Freedsama – thank you very much - I suddenly realized that things are developing quite quickly. Is Naruto actually going to end soon? On one hand, it saddens me, on the other hand, it has been going on for so many years and some ridiculous powers have been developed that gave me the sense that it lost most of the more 'ninja-feeling' part of the manga. No matter how it will ends, I hope that it will surprise me and – most importantly – won't disappoint me at the same time.

In the mean time, please enjoy this new chapter.

Your ideas are very much appreciated.

**Chapter 14: Doubling Weights**

If Naruto had ever wondered where he got his own stubbornness from – though there had been enough people to tell him after he had found out - he could only now realize that it was probably from his mother.

They were currently walking to Kushina's home, his scarf, bandana and eye wrap back in place to make him unrecognizable once more. His mother had no problem with asking questions though, seemingly having made it her goal to know everything about the situation.

Naruto couldn't help but feel nervous that Kushina could feel that something was off – whether it was her womanly intuition or the sleeping Kyuubi within her stirring.

"So you are the newest Obito?"

Said 'newest Obito' wished that he could have Ero-Sannin explain it, seeing as he was more up to date about what they thought was going on than he was. It would have been great to get an update on their suspicions as well. Unfortunately for Naruto, the Sannin was nowhere to be seen, having wisely made his escape already.

However… Naruto's eye narrowed in suspicion. Ero-Sannin was probably listening in from somewhere though.

Naruto's right eye glanced to the people on the street, watching for anyone who was keeping the same pace as they were. There were a few people that caught Naruto's attention, but most of them changed their direction too quickly to be actually listening in.

There was that woman just a little bit further ahead that had been lingering for a while already. She was 'plainly' attractive in a way that Jiraiya would often come up with – judging from his many experiences with the man and his books himself. Now he thought about it, her… err… backside looked very much like the one the writer had been spying on yeste-

"Obito?"

"Oh sorry, yes. I am." He answered her question.

She frowned at him, but let his fading attention slide and decided to comment on the matter itself instead.

"Isn't that unhealthy?"

"Everyone tells me so." Naruto evaded, his tone exposing just how much he appreciated it. Not at all.

The Jounin next to him hummed thoughtfully and Naruto was thankful for the moment of silence. Walking next to his mother – alive – was an experience he soaked up with joy. If only he could have done so as her son…

He shook his head, refusing to let his thoughts go down that saddened path. Instead, he watched out for Jiraiya once more. In all his years travelling with the man, he had only caught him once by accident on their training trip, which was why Naruto knew that he was out there somewhere, probably posing as some inconspicuous citizen.

There was a reason why he was a spymaster, but Naruto was determined to find some sort of proof this time as well.

Next to him, Kushina frowned. "But you can't be merged because of that seal." She remembered what they had told her before. "That's horrible."

The one-eyed Chuunin nodded in false agreement, narrowing his eye as the brown-haired woman slowed down just ever so slightly to get in a better hearing range.

"It saved my life." Naruto told without really realizing how much that gave away.

"Saved your life?"

Hearing the sentence being repeated like that, it occurred to Naruto that it was indeed new information.

Damn it.

The brown-haired woman turned her head ever so slightly, as to watch the shops on the other side of the street, which conveniently would allow her to listen in much better as well. The fact that she had faltered ever so slightly- just for a moment – was more than enough to confirm that it was probably the henged Sannin himself. He would have never caught it if he hadn't known the Sannin so well though.

Damn it some more. He could have talked himself out of it if it had only been Kushina – who didn't know enough about the subject yet – but the Sannin would find this much more interesting. Especially when he would try to brush it off too aggressively.

He struggled to keep his troubled expression off his face.

"It's no big deal really." He muttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets and hid his face a bit more in his scarf. "I mean… I just died."

Death experiences were not that uncommon in the ninja-world.

His eye noted that the crowd had thinned and that they had nearly arrived at Kushina's house where he would stay over.

"Obito-kun." A soft hand landed on his shoulder, making him pause. "What do you mean you actually died?"

He sighed. He couldn't lie to her outright. "Obito died." He said, ignoring the frown that appeared on her face as he said it. "Whatever happened in between, I appeared, saving our lives."

He hadn't lied at all actually.

Naruto walked away, feeling like fleeing the conversation. When he said it that way, it sounded like he had done something important. Like he was a hero, like Obito owed him or something. He was glad that Obito was caught in the clone still. He probably would feel guilty and that was not something that Naruto wanted.

He shook his head and turned it to show her the forced grin that appeared on his face. "But even though people immediately think that I'm mentally unstable or a planted spy or whatever, it means that I'm alive, right?"

His mother grimaced slightly at his obviously faked grin – which actually looked unnervingly real. Her blue eyes saddened.

"Ye-yeah." Kushina didn't know how to react, seeing as what he was saying was completely true. "Just… don't forget that we care about you alright?" She gently reminded him, not liking his depressed tone.

The Uchiha chuckled. "Sure." He muttered, feeling a pang in his chest as he heard his mother try to comfort him.

Of course they cared about _Obito_.

They didn't have a clue he was here.

Not a second later after that thought went through his head, he mentally grit his teeth together. He was becoming too negative again.

'This isn't a situation to become all jealous and all whiny.' He reminded himself.

He should just accept his frustrations and get on with it. It wasn't like he had lost his body, like Obito had.

Still, it would be nice if someone knew that he was there.

"Come on, I will fix us some ramen." His mother snapped him out of his thoughts and he realized that they were already there. Obito must have come here often seeing as he had been absently waiting for her to open the door. At the mention of ramen though, he couldn't help but feel a little better. Maybe it would give him a boost to think.

"Ramen!" He agreed.

Kushina laughed as she walked into the kitchen.

Just as he was about to follow, there was a large pop in the back of his head, taking him off guard and making his ears ring. Naruto was glad that Kushina had just walked out of the room or she would have seen him startle quite badly with no evident cause. Putting his hand on his loudly beating heart, he tried to calm down his breathing.

'_Wow… That was so weird.'_ Obito suddenly spoke up from the back of his mind, confirming Naruto's suspicion. 'I feel kinda dizzy.'

'You scared me, baka.' Naruto complained, annoyed that the Uchiha had actually dispelled himself from such large distance. It could have gone wrong.

'You can't dispel from so far away! Who knows what could have happened!'

'_It wasn't like I wanted too!'_ Obito complained. _'One of the guards caught me after I tried those Henges you mentioned to waste some time 'cause I was bored. If that wasn't enough, he decided to shoot a Katon Jutsu at me before I realized that he was there!' _The boy shuddered at the memory.

Naruto froze at the implications. Had it been an Uchiha? If they had seen that he was a simple clone… He was relieved when he saw the image that Obito shared with him. It wasn't a Hyuuga or an Uchiha, just some unfamiliar Konoha ninja.

Obito scratched the back of his head.

'_I know how to dispel myself by will now though! If that wasn't enough motivation I don't want to know what was.'_ He grinned sheepishly. '_Plus we now know that it's safe to dispel as well! I just get pulled back to the seal!'_

'That still doesn't mean you couldn't have been killed baka!' Naruto chided angrily, feeling the fear creeping up on him just by thinking about it.

Obito cringed and Naruto forced himself to put it behind him. Ninja took risks like that nearly every mission. 'Sorry, you are right; at least it worked.'

'You were out of sight when you did though?'

'_What do you take me for?' _Obito huffed, mentally crossing his arms before he realized how easily one could retort to what he just said. '_Wait… don't answer that.'_

Naruto smirked, glad that nothing had been screwed up. 'At least, they will probably think you escaped from them.'

'_Sorry, I messed up.'_

'Don't worry about it; things like that can happen. Try to be more aware next time though. You know, actually it is great. They should come back tomorrow I think.' Naruto calmed him, referring to the current and future Hokage. 'At least they will have a report about someone roaming around. That should give 'the stranger's' sudden appearance a little more credibility. You didn't look like an Uchiha right?'

'No… I looked more like a red-haired, whisker-less you than an Uchiha. So we are really going to lie to them?' Obito sighed, still feeling somewhat reluctant. The time traveler didn't even try to hide his own similar feelings. Just as he was about to reply, his Mom called out to him.

"Obito-kun? Are you coming?" Kushina called from the kitchen.

"Er, I need to go to the bathroom first. I will come in a few minutes." Naruto called out, looking around for said bathroom.

'_The door on the left.'_ Obito provided.

'Thanks' Naruto, didn't waste any time slipping away.

Safely hidden away on the toilet, where he didn't have to keep his face blank all the time, he went back to the conversation at hand.

Even with his visible reluctance, Naruto seemed very confident about what he said. 'We can't take the risk, Obito-kun. We have to keep everyone safe, not getting everyone involved into our mental problem. They would not listen to us as much as they would listen to our substitute clone. Sure they wouldn't trust him, but they would take him more seriously when he tells them to prepare silently. He will not have to hide our strength. It would only seem suspicious if we were suddenly Jounin level.'

'_Still…It would be like tricking everyone. People we trust.'_

Naruto pushed his hand through their hair, taking off the bandana in the process. 'Tell me, will they believe us if _we_ tell them?'

'What is more likely: us going crazy or the time-travelling son with a demon tagging along?'

Obito didn't even have to answer that, knowing that 'crazy' was indeed what he would believe at first as well.

'_If we show them the Kyuubi or your memories then maybe they…' _He still tried.

'They what?'

Obito faltered_. 'They can believe us, or see us…'_ He flinched when he felt Naruto's pointed mental poke. _'More likely you- as a threat, with a demon trying to pose as the Kyuubi.'_

'The chance is higher that 'we' are simply going crazy – causing our chakra to become unstable as well or something – than that I have come to live in you after having accidently time-travelled together with the Kyuubi of all things.' Naruto repeated.

Obito shuffled uncomfortably.

'Still, maybe they would be willing to listen or a while.' Naruto agreed offhandedly. 'Very small chance but still… So what would happen _if_ they were to believe us?'

'_Then they would try to prepare just like they would with the clone…'_

'Won't they go searching for him? Without us knowing? Keeping things from precious people is sometimes much easier than hiding things from the stranger that gave you information.'

'That's silly.'

Naruto shrugged. 'It's how it works; I have enough experience with it.' His friends had kept things from him many times in order to protect him and he had done the same for them as well. They hadn't always been very happy with it.

'_But won't they try to find this Madara anyway? '_ Obito pushed. _'Even though he is hiding?'_ He added with some frustration, knowing that Madara was too cunning and strong to simply find.

'_Probably… but if they do, he will know that they are searching for him and change his plans.'_ Naruto muttered darkly, itching to go looking for Madara himself. _'Not to mention, Madara will then try to figure out how they knew.'_

'_So we have to make that clear.'_ Obito agreed. '_But what difference does it make to have the clone tell them from us telling them that they can't go looking for him?_'

'There is a chance that they will probably keep us out of the planning part, since we are valuable and precious to them, won't they? Or they would try to get us out of the way during the actual attack itself. Of course this is if they don't lock us up in the hospital like they have been itching to do for some time already. I'm not saying that it will definitely happen, but there is a chance that it will – no matter how small – and that would mess up everything. We can't allow that until we have no choice.'

Obito suddenly started to see the difficult thoughts that troubled his friend. He sighed, knowing that Naruto was right and Minato would most likely try to keep him from actually fighting.

'Not to mention that in contrast to what nearly everyone believes, the Hokage doesn't get to keep a lot of secrets. The council has ears _everywhere._' Naruto continued.

'No matter what happens, Dad will once again sacrifice himself if he finds out. That can't happen, Obito. The stranger would be less problematic to 'sacrifice'. We would be able to get close to the Kyuubi if things get really bad. The future needs the Fourth.' Naruto stressed. 'It's not only that I want my Dad to be alive, but it could have all been so different.' His voice broke just ever so slightly. 'I have found notes that Dad wrote about his plans to change the council and that is one thread of the future that Jiji just can't change.'

Danzo in particular.

'Not to mention that Mom would…' Naruto suddenly froze before his lips pressed together in a thin line.

'_What is it?'_ Obito asked.

Naruto's tone was pensive and dangerously emotionless. 'I read the report about what Jiji thought had happened. That bastard was able to extract the Kyuubi so easily because Mom was had just given birth to me.'

It was suddenly difficult to breathe.

A feeling of panic washed over Obito. '_No Nii-san. You can't actually be thinking about preventing yo…'_

'If I'm not born… then he will not be able to extract the Kyuubi after my birth.'

'_Naruto are you actually listening to yourself? From what you showed me, he will find another plan to extract the Kyuubi. He would kill her! She had survived without him knowing, this will not happen if he tried the other route.' _Obito yelled at him, hitting him forcefully.

Naruto gritted his teeth. 'Yes.'

Obito was right.

'Yes he would. You are right. They will come for Kyuubi eventually anyway.' The blond reminded himself once again, steering away from dangerous theories.

They were both aware that the Kyuubi was listening, but for once choose to keep his thoughts to himself.

Obito was worried though. '_Nii-san, I think we should at least tell someone. This is clearly eating at us. We need some help.' Obito whispered. 'Minato-sensei would not be the best decision for now, I agree. If the council is listening in… Kushina wouldn't be able keep it a secret for long, I think. And we can't prevent them from… creating you either. Jiji will probably involve the council.' - _this Danzo was a big no-no in Naruto's book_ - 'but you said Jiraiya-san can be trusted, so maybe… we should ask for advice.'_

'So we put the clone up and tell Jiraiya when he is in our mind?' Naruto questioned, feeling a headache rise. 'Hopefully before he starts messing with the seal.'

Obito was more careful in his wording now. _'That's probably for the best.'_

So we would lie to most of them anyway.

The feeling of confliction was so great that they felt like breaking down. There was a soft knocking on the door and Naruto snapped out of his trance. He stared at the dark spots on his trousers and realized that he already had broken down without him knowing. Liquid dripped down his cheek and nose, much to his disgust. He quickly wiped away the tear marks on his face, but looking in the mirror he noted that his eye was red.

She would notice anyway.

"Are you alright Obito-kun?" Came the soft inquiry from the other side of the door.

Naruto sighed, knowing that if he spoke right now, she would probably hear the lump stuck in his throat. Reluctantly, he opened the door. He stood there uncomfortably, hands in his pockets. She took one look at him and took his arm. He didn't protest as he was pulled along to the couch in the living room and pulled into a big hug. His head rested on her shoulder as she squeezed him.

"I'm sorry. I got something in my eye." He muttered.

She scoffed softly. "Men. Always trying to shove away your emotions. Sometimes you should just let it go. There is nothing wrong with finding someone to help you Obito. That's why we are here." He heard Kushina mutter under her breath and he chuckled.

"Maybe…" He agreed and took a deep breath. She smelled like the ramen that she had most likely been cooking just moments ago.

They would keep them safe, but maybe she was right. She might not be a mother, but it did sound much like a Mother's wisdom.

How could one ignore that? He couldn't.

'Only Jiraiya.' They agreed together.

They didn't see the frown on Kushina's face.

~ Kakashi ~ A couple of hours later ~

Some would call him arrogant. Some would call him cold and calculating. Some would call him an emotionless jerk. Some would call him a horrible teammate, except for the skills that he brought to the team.

All of them would probably be true. Only his dedication to the team and his thoughts about teamwork had shifted in those last months. First for the worst and then for the better. He had been a wreck after Obito's death – being eaten by guilt. Obito's return had eased the guilt a little bit, though not as much as having talked to him.

He hated to think that this made him less careful during his way back to Konoha – being somewhat distracted – even though it was first undercover mission on which he was to travel alone. Had it still been war, they wouldn't let 'newbies' go out alone. But since it was still in Fire country, it would be a good practice for his mindset and his speed. The mission had not been difficult – much undercover work with henge and getting information about possible hiding refugees. Seeing as it was peaceful once again, many were forced to go back as long as they didn't face death.

All in all, the travelling between the villages was easy of course, more fitted for Chuunin, like all first solo mission were. His way back had all gone as planned. He had all the information with him. He even had some leads on some undercover ninja hiding in a nearby village, unwilling to go back yet or spying on them.

Then just a few hours away from Konoha, just when he had calculated that he would get home in the evening, he felt the killing intent rising.

Just as soon as he noticed, it was gone.

'Extreme control.' Kakashi told himself. 'Potentially dangerous ninja.' He continued as he froze on a tree branch, his eye narrowed dangerously.

Shifting his weight to a defensive pose, he realized how much better it felt to have actually someone to back him up.

"Come out." He demanded.

There was a long silence and Kakashi followed his instinct and threw a kunai to the right. A figure blurred and landed on tree branch in front of him not much later.

"You have great senses." The stranger applauded almost mockingly.

Kakashi frowned as he took in the orange mask that the man wore. He was not a familiar figure from Kakashi's Bingo Book. Yet, with the chakra that the man seemed to possess… he shivered. Who the hell was this guy?

"Who are you? You can't roam around the Fire Nation without have a passport." He stated, even when knowing that it was all in vain.

The man – quite old – he estimated him to be, laughed at him. "Ah yes… You are one of those types." He teased, his tone suddenly very happy.

"Those usually interest me since they are strong. Yet they lack the emotional input that backs up your actions. Like anger." He said, stretching his hands above his head with such nonchalance at the situation that Kakashi couldn't help but feel that something was terribly wrong.

"But what interests me even more than that, is that eye of yours." The orange masked man said with an obvious smirk. "The hidden one." He pointed at the headband covering it.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Kakashi said stiffly, drawing out another kunai.

Even though he acted odd, his senses were screaming at him… He would have to take this very seriously.

He would have to fight to survive.

Kakashi swirled around when he felt the shift of air at his back a second later, but it was too late. He grounded out in pain as he was roughly shoved from the branch and into a tree. He pushed away from the tree immediately and his hand shot out to hit the man on the collarbone. A second later, seeing as it was going to be blocked, his leg followed. He ducked below a nasty kick. It connected with the tree behind it instead, causing bark to come flying in every direction from the strength behind it.

"I'm starting to see why someone would have given it to you." The man told him in a tone that made Kakashi's guts twist.

Kakashi barely had a second to catch his breath as the man was on him once again. He was thankful for all the spars with Minato-sensei. The man was quick, but he was somewhat used to it. He danced around as the man tried to grab him, but he wasn't quite fast enough yet. Air left his lungs as he was suddenly kicked in the stomach and he couldn't fight the momentum as it flung him into another tree. His hand slipped out of his ninja pouch and a few of his smoke bombs went flying.

Surrounded by the smoke of the bombs, he saw the man a second too late. He didn't have the time push away from the wood again and gritted his teeth as the man got a hold of his arm and twisted it around expertly, forcing the young ninja to go along with it.

Kakashi's mouth was filled with dirt and his heart fluttered as the helplessness of the situation became clear to him. He glared fiercely at the masked man as he tugged his headband up to his forehead. He had averted his eyes immediately from the masked holes when he spotted a red hue from the corner of his eyes.

Sharingan?

"What makes you more special is that Sharingan of yours. Where did you get that? From a certain Uchiha perhaps?"

"As if I would tell you, bastard." Kakashi growled, anger rising as he was practically spelling Obito out for him. A second later a poof of smoke replaced him.

The man remained crouched on the ground for just a moment before his head turned to his right.

"A switch with a clone won't save you. Though doing that without any seals like that is very good." The figure drawled. "Your repression of your chakra is wonderful as well. I can see that the Fourth has trained you, Hatake Kakashi."

Many feet under the ground, said ninja kept _very_ silent.

'_Know a losing battle when you are in one.'_ Minato-sensei had told him many times. _'You may lose one battle, but you can still win the war.'_

Unfortunately, he wasn't sure how long he was going to keep this up. Nor was he sure how long the man above him would decide to stop playing around. He couldn't think of an escape. He wasn't able to crawl underground. This ninja would notice, he could tell.

Why was he so interested in the Sharingan anyway? Had it something to do with Obito?

'This may be the end.' He realized and couldn't help but worry why he suddenly felt so nervous. He had never been this worried about the prospect of dying before. He just couldn't… He just couldn't die without have said goodbye to his teammates. He should have… but at the time it had seemed too easy to push away.

He froze when he felt liquid drip down on his left cheek and immediately checked his eye. It wasn't blood. His eye was just crying.

'_I'm not crying… I just have something in my eye.'_

"There you are."

Kakashi heart skipped a beat when he heard the voice right behind him. Cramped in the small space he had hidden with just enough oxygen to hold out for about ten minutes, he didn't have enough room to move fluently.

Shit.

It had been a while since he had felt this helpless.

~Naruto ~ About 5 minutes ago ~

Naruto stared at the sunset as he lay on the roof of Kushina's house. He enjoyed the familiar view of Konoha's sunset, while his mind wondering to the new possibilities with the new clones. Obito had gone to sleep and was strangely silence. So strange, that he actually went to check up on him. When he did, Naruto found him in some corner of the field and he seemed to be meditating. Never having seen him do that before, Naruto let it go. He knew how annoying it was to be disturbed from meditation. The boy had been getting nervous, expressing worries about Kakashi taking so long to get back, so it was good for him to finally relax. Besides, Obito probably wouldn't do anything too stupid right?

Pushing away his worries, Naruto drifted back to his thoughts. If he somehow got the Kyuubi to connect to one of the clones…

He might have come up with a good theory had he not been badly – badly – startled by Obito's cry of panic echoing in his head.

'_KAKASHI! NO! KAKASHI!'_

'What the hell Obito? What's wrong?' He cried back, having nearly fallen off the roof in his scare.

'_Something is wrong! He needs help!'_

It was difficult for Naruto to slip back into his mindscape when Obito was in such panic, but with years of entering and leaving, he had enough experience to get back in. He felt the odd sensation of time speeding up and as soon as he felt the imaginary grass below his feet, he turned to Obito.

"Calm down!" He told the boy, who practically charged at him in his distress and gripped his jacket tightly.

"We have to do something Naruto! He practically told himself that this was the end! He managed to hide, but he can't get away. If that ninja finds him he will rip his eye out and probably…" He rambled in panic, shaking him with urgency.

'OBITO CALM DOWN AND SHUT UP!' Naruto demanded, causing Obito to snap his mouth shut and to freeze on the spot.

Seeing as the boy wouldn't be able to keep still for long, Naruto immediately took charge of the situation. "Tell me how you know – keep it short." He told the boy.

"I have this connection with his eye before I woke up. I didn't really remember it at all, but I thought about it today and then I started focusing on my left eye and suddenly I could see what Kakashi saw and then…" Obito babbled, pointing to the eye that he for some reason had kept in his mindscape.

"That's enough. Where is he?" Naruto stopped him. Though this connected would need some more investigation, they had a bigger problem at hand. Obito seemed to be too sure of the situation to be simply imagining it.

Obito struggled to get the name of the village, which was situated a few hours away from Konoha itself.

In the mean time, Naruto couldn't help but wonder how Kakashi's first solo mission could have turned out to be so dangerous. He had never told him anything about it going wrong before. Was this a new development? He suddenly felt cold. How much had they changed?

This was exactly why he had tried to stay away.

"…Minato-sensei is gone! He can't flash us there!" Obito continued.

"Obito!" He called the boy to get his attention back to him. "We have our clones… However, I need to go there. I _need_ you to take care of this body alright. Use the emotion that you feel now to fuel any movement. Don't let this energy go, until you tell Kushina that you are tired and you have gone to bed. _Alright_?" His demeanor almost automatically turned to one of a leader.

"But I… I can't…"

"You have to Obito! I need to be in charge of the clone and the chakra and we can't both leave the body! If you can't have enough control I want you to pretend like you fell asleep right here alright? They will leave you be… hopefully." Naruto explained forcefully, not wanting the boy to try and follow him.

Obito didn't agree with it_. 'But how do you get to Kakashi?'_ He questioned as Naruto slipped back to reality to get their body away from the public eye.

The Uchiha slipped through an open window and was relieved to find the room empty. Sitting down in lotus position, he slipped back into the mindscape. He wasn't sure how much slower time passed in the mindscape but every second might make a difference. Time mattered.

"I will use a mix of the Sage mode and Kurama's chakra to give myself a boost. It will take up a lot of our chakra though. I should get there within a half hour." He muttered to Obito as he went through the process of preparing a clone. They would need more chakra this time. He was worried as well that the boost wouldn't be quick enough, but there was no quicker wa…'

The Yondaime.

The Flying Thunder God technique.

Surely he put up a seal tag – with the technique's formula – on all of his students?

Naruto hadn't been quite able to master such large distances with the technique without his sage mode to assist him. In fact, he never tried to cover such a large distance ever before. Would the clone hold up? The jutsu was too taxing for a clone. Still, he had to try.

When he shared his thoughts, Obito couldn't confirm anything about having been marked with a seal though. The risk would be too great to travel there unknowingly as without the seal being activated, he wouldn't be able to sense it. Even when it would be activated, it would be difficult for him to sense, as it was not his chakra chained to the seal. Maybe if he-

Obito cut him off his thoughts before he could come up with any plans.

"Naruto… I think I can go there faster."

"Obito…"

"I can get to him! I feel it Naruto!" He cried to the ninja. "It's right here!" He pressed and put his hand on his left eye. A few seconds later Naruto felt an odd sensation creep up behind his empty eye. It unnerved him somewhat.

"You don't know how strong that ninja is… I have more experience." Naruto chided him.

Obito wasn't affected by his tone though. "I know! But I just feel that I can do this Naruto! I feel that ever since we have started training that tangible jutsu at night, that there is more to it. It's something with Clan's jutsu I think. That's not important right now though! I can get to him so much faster! Like teleportation or something!" Obito brimmed with emotion and Naruto suddenly felt as if those boulders landed on his shoulder again.

He wasn't very bright by any means, but his words seemed too familiar.

'_He can get so much faster to Kakashi? Teleportation? Use his Sharingan?'_

"Have you been practicing this when I was asleep?" He demanded angrily.

"Just a couple of times!" Obito called back, not stepping down. "I have to get to him Naruto!"

Their eyes clashed. Naruto's lips thinned. So he really meant teleportation.

But that meant that…

Kurama seemed to realize that same as well, maybe he had even suspected it for a while - and decided to put in his two cents. **'Did you ever realize that you were actually manipulating the chakra with the Sharingan when you do Madara's jutsu?'**

'But that's… that's _Madara's_ jutsu…' Naruto muttered, shocked.

'**It's not a tweak that I added…' **Kurama denied the upcoming thought.

Naruto shuddered. He had never known what was behind the mask of the bastard he had fought against all those years, but to think that maybe the boy next to him… No, he reminded himself. He couldn't be Madara himself. Not likely. Madara had used the body then? Had he manipulated the teen's mind until it had been as twisted as the man was himself?

Had that bastard found the body of Obito in his own past?

Was that why he had ended up in this body? Because that final clash with Madara brought him here? Had that bastard tried to pull any last tricks?

What had Naruto changed?

So many thoughts hit him that it suddenly was more difficult to breathe.

'**Focus on the matter at hand for now. They are not the same kid, don't even make the connection.'** The fox chided him, breaking him out the line of thought.

"Let me go to him Naruto! Please? Please make a clone! I will do the henge and everything; just let me get him out please." Obito pleaded, shaking the figure in front of him.

Looking at the boy in front of him, his eye widened when he saw his left eye leaking tears. The other remained dry, though it was filled with just as much desperation. Even though he had been distracted by everything, in reality, he had already made the decision. Slipping back, Naruto was already going through the necessary seals and chakra gathering to summon the clone in front of him. He hoped that Kushina was distracted enough not to be alerted.

"Focus Obito." He muttered and counted down from three.

He was relieved to see a perfect red-haired clone standing in front of him. "Wait." Naruto ordered as Obito was about to vanish the second he appeared in front of him.

He gathered some more chakra – luckily he just had some more left – and put his hand on the clone's belly. A seal appeared under his hands and Obito's eyes widened with understanding.

"For if you can't go back. We don't know if it works both ways… Good luck." He added with a small smile.

Obito stared at him gratefully. "Thanks." He stated, as both of the clone's eyes changed to the Sharingan.

Naruto watched both eyes swirl into a pattern he had seen many times before – making his stomach twist – before the dimension twisted around the boy, taking the clone with it.

"Damn it all." Naruto muttered darkly under his breath. "This is so screwed up."

He flopped down onto the floor and put his head in his hands. He forced himself in lotus position though. He would need a lot of natural chakra for the stunt he would surely pull off.

"Just when you think things can't get any more messed up." He grumbled as he started building up the chakra, while stopping it from entering his chakra stream. One he would let go of it, it would boost the necessary jutsu hopefully enough that he would be able to cover all the distance.

'**That bastard is still out there Naruto. I can smell his foulness from anywhere.'**

'Hell Kurama… he might have even been watching us all this time' Naruto replied, shuddering.

'**No, I would have probably noticed.**' Kurama growled in the back of his mind. **'Still, it means that we just have to step up the game. He will go after me. I know that I said that I might not be willing to get back to you after merging with the other Kyuubi Naruto… I take it all back. I will do everything in my power to take that bastard down, even if I have to sacrifice the chance of my freedom. You have my word.'**

Even if Naruto had ever doubted the word of a demon, he wouldn't have been able to doubt these words.

He didn't answer but nodded solemnly instead as he nervously waited for any sign of Obito.

His hands were already formed in the first seal.

'Come on Obito.'

~ Madara ~

There was no choice for the boy to go up, Madara knew as he kept an eye on the boy hidden in the ground. He wouldn't have enough air to last long.

He would have to end this soon, but he had to hand it to the boy, he had surprised him just ever so slightly.

However, playtime was over.

As expected, with another spurt of chakra the silver-haired ninja manipulated the earth around him and reached the surface once again. Lots of debris and smoke covered him for a moment, before it revealed him standing a few feet away from the hole. Readying him for his possible final battle, it didn't even occur to him that when a figure suddenly appeared right next him, it might not be his enemy.

It was a surprise when the unknown red-haired ninja sidestepped his attack as if he had been expecting it.

Madara couldn't help but find the move very interesting.

"Who are you?" Kakashi demanded.

"An enemy of an enemy is a friend." The newcomer merely said as he twisted around, his chakra practically crackling in the air.

"Natural chakra? My, my… Who might you be?" Came the familiar voice from the space that the man had punched towards. "I don't know your face from anywhere." Madara stated to the red-head, who didn't answer except for growl at him.

"You are a bastard who makes me sick. That's all you need to know."

"I don't care really, but you are standing in between something that I want. That's _dangerous_." He drawled out the last word warningly.

"Too bad for you." The newcomer stated, unfazed.

The place he stood on was blasted away by a fire-jutsu a few seconds later, leaving nothing behind. However, Madara had been able to catch the poof of smoke and realized that he had actually been had. The kid had disappeared as well. He frowned when he reviewed the arrival of the stranger.

When he let the brat hide under the ground, the man's presence had appeared for a moment before the two of them darted to the surface.

He now realized that he had actually felt two extra presences disappear as well. He felt around, the signatures were not within his range of sensing chakra. It was practically impossible to transport that far without him noticing.

Not to mention that the two in front of him had been clones.

Madara had not been taking them seriously and the newcomer had taken advantage of it. Not even a second had he wasted.

The masked man growled. He would not make the same mistake the next time.

At least, until he had found out whom that stranger was.

~ Near Konoha ~

"Oomph!" The clone cried as he hit the ground hard.

For a moment Obito thought that he was going to pop, but the chakra held. This was probably only because the other clones had just popped, which gave him a little bit of chakra back. One tiny poke would probably pop him though.

'He didn't have to toss me on the ground like that' Obito complained, back on his feet.

Naruto was nowhere in sight. Instead, when he turned around, he came face in face with a very angry looking Kakashi, who was struggling to get back on his feet as well.

However after having covered such a distance with the Flying Thunder God technique, it wasn't a wonder that his teammate was a bit disorientated. He wondered how his own body coped with it, having practically been forced to go through twice the distance.

The silver-haired teenager managed to stand for a whole second before he fell back onto the ground again.

"Are you alright?" He asked to the teenager that was sprawled out on the ground next to him.

He might not have spoken up if he realized that Kakashi might see him as a threat. Manipulating the chakra, he flashed right in front of him, making Obito blink in surprise at the aggressiveness.

"That's a quick recovery." Obito stated dryly, not fazed at all.

"Who. The. Hell. Are. You." Kakashi demanded dangerously, his kunai pointed at his neck. He must have realized that the transportation had been pretty familiar.

He simply smiled at him, glad that he had gotten his teammate out of trouble. "An enemy of an enemy, you could say. A friend, or maybe an ally…"

"However, now is not the time to talk. Your Hokage will be able to speak with me soon. I'm sure that the future Fourth will also have some questions once you tell him about this... err little trip. Oh don't be like that, I'm not a threat I reassure you." He added when he saw the furious expression flash across his teammates face.

"No. You will not move until I have summoned a few of my colleagues. We would love to hear your story." The Jounin growled and Obito actually laughed at him.

He kind of felt bad for making Kakashi believe all that nonsense, but it was somewhat funny nonetheless. Sacrificing his next to last bit of chakra, he lashed out to grab Kakashi's hand holding onto the kunai.

Smirking at him, he told him. "I will answer some time later…" At least he thought that was the plan.

His smirk slipped off his face and his eyes narrowed.

"But I can tell you this Hatake-san. That man is an enemy of mine and I won't hesitate to hinder him any possible way. So be careful with that eye of yours." He stated seriously as his other hand shifted the headband back down, causing Kakashi to flinch. He hadn't even noticed him getting so close.

"Oh and you're welcome for saving you by the way." Obito cheerfully ended before he pulled the kunai to his collarbone to nick himself.

A dizzy and disorientating trip later – somehow worse than being flashed from miles away like just moments ago – he felt himself settle in his mind once again. He let himself flop down with a relieved sigh when he spotted Naruto as well. He was patted on the shoulder as the blond came over and grinned at him.

"Are you alright Naruto?" He asked.

"I'm fine." Naruto reassured him. "It just took a lot of energy. How are you doing?"

"I feel kind of sle… ewpy…" Obito wasn't even able to finish the sentence as the strain of the dimensional jutsu caught up to him.

Naruto shook his head after making sure that he was fine. "Thanks for letting me borrow your chakra Kurama." He wouldn't have been able to get as far without it.

"**Don't worry about it… just start working on that plan you were thinking about before. I would love to stretch my legs for once as well." **The fox nudged with a smirk, making Naruto falter.

"I'm not sure if that's even possi…"

"**Get started brat."**

"Stupid fox." Naruto grumbled as he returned to reality and turned around in his futon. He knew that the demon was simply trying to distract him from the bigger problems at hand. Unfortunately, it wasn't working.

Closing his eyes, he tried to give in to sleep. All his muscles were screaming at him, but those were not as bad as the thoughts spooking in his head.

"How much have I changed?" He whispered.

It took a while for him to actually get some rest.

~ Many hours later ~

For a long time, Naruto had been the type of person to sleep through nearly everything. As a teenager, he had often been dependent on his more aware teammates to keep an eye on their surroundings while he slept.

Only later on, circumstances had forced him to become more paranoid. Though Kakashi's training 'how to wake up quickly' might have been simply a payback for all those times he had kept him awake with his snoring – Sakura had been very willing to help out as well. So, whether it was his previous experience or Obito's body itself – maybe it was the slightly increased hearing – Naruto found that he was easily awakened by different sounds.

Hearing the door of the guest room opening was one of them.

Recognizing two familiar chakra signatures was another. This had caused him to bury his head a little more into his blanket, allowing most of his face to be hidden.

"He's still asleep?" His sleepy mind heard his Mother's voice ask in a whisper as the light filled the room from the doorway.

"I think so." Kakashi's tired voice answered - speaking of the devil. "He always sleeps through everything." He added, though his usual annoyance was absent from his statement.

Even the 'unworthy ninja characteristic' wasn't implied as it usually would have been.

"Yes, Minato-kun mentioned that once." Kushina chuckled softly. "Sleep well. You deserve it after such a tiring mission. I can understand why you refused to stay at the hospital, but try to rest. Tell me what you can tomorrow alright? Anyway, Obito has been sleeping silent lately, so I don't think you need the earplugs. If he starts, you know where to get them."

So Obito had been a snorer as well? Naruto couldn't ask though said boy was actually snoring softly in the back of his mind now that he noticed it.

"Hn." The sound was thoughtful. "Thanks. Goodnight." He muttered sleepily a few seconds later.

Naruto let himself breath calmly in and out as he used his sleepy state to his advantage. There wasn't any threat, so he simply absently listened as the silver-haired ninja installed on a futon at the other side of the small room. There was a pause in the rustling of the blanket, before he heard the teen quietly walk across the room. The fact that the footsteps were coming closer to him was unexpected, but he waited calmly. Kakashi would never hurt him, he knew.

He still twitched slightly as he felt a hand ascend on his head. It remained there quietly and he relaxed his face again. He didn't even think as he hummed in appreciation as Kakashi ruffled his hair, as if reassuring himself that he was still there.

"I'm _sorry_…" The ninja muttered as his hand stilled. "I shouldn't have been fighting with you."

For a moment, Naruto wondered if Kakashi thought he had woken him up, but then Kakashi continued speaking.

"I have been a jerk for such a long time… If you hadn't pulled me away… And now this guy…" He felt a part of his hair being brushed out of his face – very carefully.

"I… I have to make it up to you somehow." Naruto's eye twitched as he realized that the teen was staring at his scarred face.

For a moment he wasn't sure on how to react. Then he flinched back when something ghosted past one of his scars, getting him out of his sleepy state of mind. He wouldn't be able to pretend to sleep with Kakashi so close to observe him, so he decided to go along with it. Groaning, his eye fluttered open and he stared with a glazed eye at the teenager, who was suddenly out of his personal space. His hand was back at his side, as if it had never been on his head.

"Kakashi?" He muttered, silently glad that he was sleepy enough to pull it off. He gently rubbed at his scarred face.

"Hai. Sorry for waking you."

"No probl'm. H'w did the m'ssion go?" He asked, stretching before he turned his pillow to find a cooler spot.

He stubbornly ignored the protests that his muscles made as he did.

"It was successful."

Naruto smiled. "Good. Sleep well."

"Goodnight." Kakashi echoed back, still watching him from the other side of the room.

Naruto closed his eye and listened as Kakashi got to bed. After a few minutes, he noticed that there was no difference in the teenager's breathing and frowned. Opening his eye to check up on the Hatake, he noticed that he was still staring at him – although very pensive.

Rolling his eyes, he threw an extra pillow that he had claimed at the Jounin, who caught it almost automatically.

"Stop staring at me Teme, it's getting creepy."

Kakashi snapped out of it rather quickly and threw the pillow back. "You're hallucinating… Loser." The last word sound oddly dull compared to their previous name-calling. It was simply the sake of habit to respond that way.

"You are probably just dreaming that I am, Kakashi." He smirked, throwing the pillow back with a bit more power.

"Oomph!"

Hit the mark right on and Naruto quickly used his remaining pillow as shield when his attack was returned once again.

"You are asking for a wake-up call baka."

Naruto just laughed.

The two continued their quiet pillow fight – aware of the other occupant of the house – until Obito was smacked right in his face, causing him to topple back on his futon. The zipper of the pillow scratched at his sensitive scars, causing him to hiss out in pain. It turned into a groan as his muscles protested against the fall. Though he had been prepared to continue their fun battle, Kakashi ceased immediately at his hiss.

"What's wrong?" He said, crouching down in front of him.

"Just the stupid zipper, don't worry about it." Naruto quickly reassured him, but he realized it had ruined the moment already.

With a disappointed sigh, he put the pillow in his lap. "Really, it's nothing." He let go of his face as to prove it.

The silver-haired ninja nodded reluctantly.

"Does it hurt just like that?" Kakashi asked him instead.

"No."

There was a silence in which Kakashi opened and closed his mouth two times before he finally dared to ask.

"Can I…?" Kakashi asked, his hand already reaching out for his face, causing his teammate to flinch away.

Putting a hand on his face, he decided that it wasn't a good idea to let Kakashi feel guilty for his scars. It had been Obito's own decision – one that he would have made as well – to save his teammate after having practically forced said teammate from following his decision to save their other teammate.

"Really Kakashi. You don't have to worry about it." He said once again, but recognized the stubborn expression on the man's face.

"I… I can use the Sharingan." Kakashi offered as he studied the scars carefully, most likely wondering if there were any healing methods to fix them.

The statement caught Naruto off guard. "I haven't used mine for a while." He answered carefully – lied - showing no jealousy about the matter.

"Obito- this isn't my eye." The masked ninja muttered, going to back to a conversation they had a long time ago.

"It is now."

"I really can't…"

"I gave it to you right?"

"But…"

"Besides, the Sharingan probably wouldn't survive another implantation." A simple guess, but if it could be used as an argument he would use it.

"Obito."

"Kakashi." Obito said evenly, copying his tone perfectly. "It is yours Teme. Just accept it. If you really don't want it, then throw it away."

He would accept transplantation if he really would try to throw it away, but he knew Kakashi-sensei well enough to know that he wouldn't.

The two stared at each other, both stubborn. For once, Kakashi was the first to look away. "We will talk about this later."

"I think you are hallucinating Kakashi."

"Dream on Obito."

None of the two seemed to be aware of the redheaded figure sneaking back to her own bedroom, a small smile on her lips.

**~ End Chapter ~**

That was a lot of action and hopefully tension in this chapter. I hope you liked it, so that pulling off a near all-nighter after having this spur of inspiration will worth it haha.

If you have any thoughts of theories about this whole –Obito revealed! – moment, please share them with me. I'm horrible with keeping up with the manga and I don't want to miss any new revelations.

Finally some Obito-power! Whoohoo! Part of my fanfiction dream come true haha.

Hope to hear from you guys soon!

~ Dreamyin


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary**: It is not for nothing that Naruto has gotten the reputation of being the most surprising ninja. As if to keep this reputation, the blond often lands himself in unusual situations that ask for the most unusual solutions. However, after fighting Madara to the bitter end and caught up in a clash of jutsus, waking up in Obito's body and buried under piles of stones was not something even Naruto thought possible. How will Naruto take care of the upcoming threat of Akatsuki and Madara in a past he does not know while starting a new legend for Uchiha Obito?

**Beta**_:_ _Unbeta'd_ for now. Please ignore the mistakes or help me correct them.

I'm not even going defend myself. It started with simply trying to see where the plot about Obito's identity being Tobi/Madara went, to being somewhat disappointed by the odd powerjumps that had suddenly happened within such a short amount of time that he could suddenly face off against the Fourth Hokage and control a Nine-tailed fox, and ended with indecision on where I wanted to go with my story.

But! I'm not going to quit this! I'm actually hoping to finish this within another five to ten chapters.

Several point I would like to discuss as well. One, my dear Animecrzylove (AngelsFallBeforeUs on DA) has made a sketch of what will probably become the 'cover' for this fic. I'm very excited about it. Please check out my profile for the link if you are curious. Second, I heard from a dear reviewer that someone used a large part of my story for her own fic as inspiration… I have to agree that it seems a little more than inspiration. It's French, so I don't know how much is copied, but I can guess. She did mention me though, but never asked me outright. So I'm not sure how I should feel about that yet. Any ideas?

Anyway, enough rambling. I hope that you guys will enjoy this chapter and seeing as I already started part of the next chapter, I hope that I will soon have enough time to finish chapter 16.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Chapter 15

~ Next morning ~ 

Grass and trees rustled in the wind. Sounds of laughing and giggling, drowned by the sound of water splashing, echoed softly as said wind carried it away.

It was a peaceful morning in this quiet part of Konoha, had it not been for one odd sound that didn't quite seem to belong.

"Hehehe-hum!"

The man stifled his giggles as he peered through the little wooden fence that was meant to give the women on the other side the 'privacy' that they wanted. Little did they know that they were letting their guard down a little too much, chattering about everything that happened the past couple of days, the tiny little gossips in town and other irrelevant stuff that happened in their lives.

The experienced shinobi easily ignored the pointless stuff during his 'research'.

"Did you hear? There was this shinobi that was spotted near the hospital. He disappeared as soon as he had been spotted." A woman's voice spoke quietly.

The man's interest peaked as he heard the whisper.

"I know right! Those Jounin's keep escaping the hospital. Really, Jori should just accept that he will be dragged back in no time." Another woman replied with a sigh of disappointment.

The Sannin sighed mentally in disappointment as well. Still nothing. It didn't stop him from continuing to listen in though, while as well admiring the view. As long as he wasn't spotted, he might be able to hear something interesting ye-

"I have a question for you."

That didn't come from behind the fence.

That question came from right behind him.

'I just jinxed himself, didn't I?' The man pondered.

Damn it.

Jiraiya's shoulders tensed as he slowly turned away from the small hole in the fence he had been peeking through. He met the stern expression on the woman's face – whose temper could rival Tsunade-hime – somewhat sheepishly.

"Hehehe… Ah Kushina-chan! Lovely morning isn't it! Beautiful weather as well! It's not what it looks like, really! I, err… I was just about to get back to the Hokage tower to greet the Old Man and Minato-kun. So if you would excu-"

The woman pointedly took a step forward to block his escape route.

"Sure you were." She nodded at him in a rather unconvinced manner.

"Of course! I-I wouldn't dar-"

"I will hit you for peeking later" She brusquely cut him off, making the man gulp nervously.

"But at the moment, I'm more worried about other things than your little perverted obsession of yours." The red-haired woman told him bluntly as she crossed her arms over her chest, alerting Jiraiya almost immediately.

He immediately dropped his usual automatic behaviour – more a routine of sheepish and perverted façade that he acted out when he was spotted.

'Worries?' Jiraiya repeated mentally and took in the troubled expression on her face.

Yes, there was something bothering her. The Sannin slowly stood up, his face now more serious. If there was something bothering Kushina, it was often troubling.

"It is the fox?" He immediately had to ask, mentally going through several seals that could be used if there were any problems.

The Kunoichi frowned for a moment, automatically reaching for her belly, where her cursed seal was situation.

"Not… exactly. It's more about Obito-kun." She admitted, calming him somewhat.

At least there wasn't a demon alert then.

"Ah." Jiraiya nodded slowly, his thought going to his student's student. "He has been acting out of character again?"

"Not really… well… I mean considering what he went through." Kushina added after a pause and sighed.

"Well, his tale might not be completely truthful." Jiraiya had to point out, which was met with a pointed look that told him that she was well aware of the possibilities.

"He is genuine as far as I can tell." She couldn't help but defend the Uchiha.

"There is just something… off. There is not much to say about it. It is those small things. He is moving about too much. He is restless. I swore I caught him using chakra yesterday, but it felt too different. I thought another shinobi had entered my house. In fact, I'm worried that _that_ particular shinobi approached him again. It was gone within a second though and when I quickly checked, Obito-kun was simply meditating. Still … I feel like he want to tell me something, but keeps it to himself."

She kicked a small rock in frustration, which disappeared into deep into the woods in a flash. Jiraiya decided not to comment on it.

"Yes… I had the same feeling. We will talk to him later about that." The Sannin agreed instead. "Maybe it really has to do with the shinobi that was looking for him like you said before. Did you recognise the chakra?

"No. I didn't have enough time before."

"We will talk with Obito-kun soon nonetheless."

Kushina nodded but didn't say anything as she thoughtfully stared ahead.

Jiraiya caught her _still_ rubbing her belly and frowned. "What about the seal?"

The woman's head snapped up at the question. "Wha-? Oh right. Well, there haven't been any problems. If anything…" She bit her lip as she looked for the right words. "I don't feel the… exact amount of malevolence that I normally always feel within me."

"It has calmed down?" Jiraiya rephrases, frowning as well. "That never happened before right?"

"Yes. It feels like it has… become more withdrawn." She agreed reluctantly. "It's not like I don't mind. In fact, I can't help but feel more relaxed without this bubble of… hate constantly nagging me in the back of my mind."

The Sannin hummed in understanding, though it didn't do anything to crease their worries.

This was something new.

There was something going on with the fox.

Was it planning something?

"The seal is still as strong as it always has been?"

Kushina nodded. "I can't find anything wrong with it."

"Can I check?" Jiraiya asked.

The woman regarded him for a moment, her eyes glancing to the fence he had just been peeking through, before she nodded.

"Fine, don't try anything funny or I will go to Minato." She told him with a glare. "You better believe it."

The Sannin laughed sheepishly. "Ah there is no need to threaten me like that Kushina-chan."

"Just so we are clear." She muttered absently.

"We are." He couldn't help but defend himself.

"Good. Now, if we go to Minato's house, then we can pick up Kakashi and Obito before we go out to meet Minato and Hokage-sama about the situation." She offered, glancing at the sun to estimate the time.

Jiraiya nodded, well aware of the situation, seeing as he had talked with Kakashi about worrying and odd mission that had gone wrong yesterday. The Sannin had not been quite sure how to handle it without the leaders present – the two Hokages should really be made aware of this development – so they had send the boy to sleep while Jiraiya went out to find more information.

There was something fishy going on. Something that could be very dangerous.

Especially if the boy had really been dragged along with _Minato'_s jutsu of all things.

'And then the fact that Kushina said that maybe that same person probably approached Obito… What role does he play in this?'

All the more reason to alert the Hokage and Future Hokage, he had decided and had summoned a toad to inform the two men to get back as soon as possible.

After this, the Sannin had spent hours trying to look for the "red-head young man" that Kakashi had described, but hadn't been able to find anything. No hints at the location where, according to Kakashi, he had a left with an odd jutsu – it was like popping a clone but different. If it hadn't been a replacement with a clone, then it might have been another transportation technique. Much to Jiraiya's frustration, the ninja around the town hadn't reported any sighting. The gossiping woman hadn't heard about anything either, nor the Kunoichi he had been targeting to eardrop on.

Nobody had seen anything.

The redhead had disappeared.

"-raiya? Jiraiya!" He blinked as he realised that he had spaced out with a rather thoughtful expression on his face.

The woman frowned at him, but didn't comment on it.

"Let's just check the seal and then wake up the boys alright?" She asked him instead, to which he nodded.

As both of them flashed through the seals to transport quickly back to the house, Jiraiya couldn't help but think about Obito.

'I'm missing something… He was about to tell me something before.'

His eyes narrowed and both of them flashed out of the clearing.

'I'm going to find out what is going on.'

~ Back at Minato's place ~ 

Kakashi's eyes snapped open as he shot up into sitting position. Sweat dripped down his forehead and he shivered. The young ninja took a deep breath to calm his racing heart and to slow his panting. It took a moment for him to get out of his shock, before a wave of fear washed over him once more.

'Obito!' His mind immediately ordered him and his eyes shot towards the bed that his teammate was sleeping on.

He was there, still soundly asleep.

'He is safe.'

The thought slowly registered in the boy's mind and he slumped forward in relief. The fight from the day before had spooked Kakashi more than he had shown to the Jiraiya and Kushina. He had been pretty much in a daze when he retold what had happened. Though maybe the Sannin had noticed it, seeing as he had asked Kushina to let him sleep in the guest room. Maybe the man had seen how shaken he had been after all.

Maybe he had understood his need to make sure his teammate was safe and sound.

It had been the pillow fight and the familiar conversation with Obito that had calmed him enough to sleep after that. His friend's presence had allowed the teenager to savour the moment and he had slipped into the dreaming world too quickly to actually notice.

Too bad that his nightmares had decided to remind him of what had happened.

The fact that the masked man had been talking about Kakashi like he _knew_ him and then continued to indirectly _threaten_ Obito…

It scared him.

That masked man was strong. Kakashi had been able to feel the amount – if not only a part - of chakra and killing intent that the man possessed. Kakashi was well aware that the man could have killed him without him even realising that he had been there. He had enough experience with sparring and fighting with stronger opponents – like Minato-sensei – to know that if the man hadn't been playing with him…

Kakashi growled as he felt another tremble course through his body.

'Don't be so weak!' He told himself. 'You are a ninja for a reason damn it!'

The scolding calmed him somewhat, but the young shinobi couldn't quite shake the surreal feeling that he had actually managed to survive that encounter…

'Had it not been for the redhead…' Kakashi thought, the blanket scrunched up as he clenching his fists, knuckles white.

'I would have been dead… and Obito and Rin would have…'

He gritted his teeth as one of his hands slowly reached towards his left eye, Obito's Sharingan. He closed the eye slowly and rubbed it.

The words of the redhead still roamed in his head.

'_But I can tell you this Hatake-san. That man is an enemy of mine and I won't hesitate to hinder him any possible way. So be careful with that eye of yours.'_

He once again looked at Obito.

'_So be careful with that eye of yours.' _

There was a threat for the Uchiha out there.

But who was that guy? How did he know where he was? How the hell did he know Minato's jutsu? How the hell was he able to appear behind him without a warning? What had happened after the two of them had disappeared? How did he know about him and Obito?

Now restless with all the questions roaming in his head, Kakashi stood up and snuck toward the sleeping boy who was spread out on the bed, snoring softly. He couldn't help but smile somewhat grimly as he saw the peaceful expression on his friend's face. It made the scars on his face only stand out more.

How could he ever have underestimated his teammate?

There was not a moment that Kakashi couldn't forget the expression that had been on Obito's face when he had flung Kakashi out of the way of that boulder.

It was the bravest thing one could do.

Kakashi's hand slowly reached forward and gently moved away the streaks of hair that were covering Obito's face, exposing the scars more clearly. Kakashi's dark eye stared at the lines and the raw skin with an odd expression on his face, before he gently moved the hair back. It felt like he had to respect Obito's wish of being somewhat discrete about it.

Even though this was the biggest sacrifice that anyone had ever made for Kakashi.

This sacrifice didn't only limit itself to being physical wounded. It wasn't even only his life that Obito had sacrificed in the end. Nor was it the fact that he had given him the Sharingan before they all believed that he would die – Obito included.

It was the consequences that Obito was facing for his actions. Two personalities, the suspicion that was directed at him and the isolation that was put on him, were just the larger ones. The sacrifice was genuine as well, making it count even more. The fact that that stubborn 'Dobe' didn't even want his eye back was proof on its own. Obito had even told him that he was stupid when Kakashi had mourned him before Kakashi knew that was actually still alive in front of him.

It was difficult to describe the feeling that Kakashi felt when he looked at those scars.

There was one thing he knew for certain, he was never going to take Obito for granted again.

He was going to protect him.

'Even if it requires a sacrifice on my part.' Kakashi decided firmly as he turned around and walked out of the door.

He was going to meet up with Minato-sensei and Hokage-sama the moment they were back. He had to tell them what happened.

The sooner they knew, the better.

~ Obito's Mindscape ~

There hung an uncomfortable vibe in the air that was difficult to ignore.

It didn't have to do with the fact that they were waiting for the body to have been fully rested at all. It often happened that Naruto and Obito 'woke' up from in their mindscape before Naruto really woke up in the real world.

Normally they would discuss training, plans, stories or share memories that were interesting. Sometimes they went to chat with Kurama when he was awake.

Sometimes they simply acted like little brats – much like the time that Minato and Inoichi came by. Sometimes, they simply rested; enjoying a peaceful silence between them that you could only have with people you were comfortable with.

Today was different though.

They weren't talking.

The silence between them was bothering both of them – the youngest more than the other.

Even with his eyes closed, Naruto couldn't help but feel the unease oozing from the other boy sitting near him. He could practically hear the wheels in Obito's brain spinning, trying to find a right approach to figure out what was bothering him.

The blonde could practically feel the question coming – it was on the tip of the boy's tongue - much to the blond's displeasure.

Naruto didn't want to talk yet.

Too bad, because he could practically hear the black-haired Uchiha thinking…

'Something is wrong.'

'He is acting oddly.'

'Why isn't he talking?'

'Why is he ignoring me?'

'I didn't do anything wrong right?'

Something was _off_.

Naruto wasn't sharing something.

These thoughts were completely justified as well. Which was exactly the reason that Naruto didn't want to talk about it. He even considered fleeing just for a moment, but he didn't allow himself to move. He was not a coward like that, he reminded himself. Even though he knew that the teen would open his mouth any moment now and ask him-

"Naruto-nii-san…What is bothering you?"

Well… that question.

It took a few seconds for Naruto to react – which was far too long in Obito's opinion and made him only more suspicious - before Naruto slowly opened one of his eyes.

The blue color reflected brightly in the light of the illuminated moon as the blond looked up into the questioner's direction, tilting his head back in the process. He didn't move from his position, spread out in the grass where he had dropped himself a while ago to watch the stars. His arms folded back behind his head made it difficult to simply shrug it off.

Instead, Naruto quietly took in the figure that sat cross-legged in the field, watching as the teen absently rubbed together the torn grass that was captured in his hand. Obito dropped it without even looking at it and started pulling out more grass, returning his attention back to Naruto.

A pair of narrowed dark eyes met its gaze.

They kept their eyes locked for a long time, studying each other, before the blue eye glazed over and closed. Naruto sighed tiredly but couldn't find a right way to answer.

"Naruto-nii-san… What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Are you angry with me?" The question sounded unsure, worried.

Not at the boy in front of him, Naruto reminded himself. Yet, he couldn't help but link him to the bitter and dangerous enemy that he had become in the future.

How had this foolish boy fallen so deep?

"Naruto-nii-san. Are you? Angry that is."

The question was more forceful this time.

"Obito, it's noth-…" Naruto started, but he couldn't get himself to finish that sentence either.

It would be an obvious lie.

Not that it made a difference; Obito already knew that he didn't want to talk about it. It just showed how much it bothered him if Naruto was nearly willing to actually lie to him. It made his suspicion rise to a level that he couldn't ignore it anymore.

There was sound of movement; Naruto could hear the boy move closer to him through the grass as it rustled. No matter that was their mind that they were resting in, some things were just the same.

The two feet stopped a few inch away from the top of his head, where he laid spread out in the grass.

A shadow formed over his face as Obito leaned over him, blocking the light from the full moon.

"What's wrong?" Obito repeated, leaning his hands on his knees as he bowed over his 'Nii-san'. He didn't even bother to hide his worry and frustration that he felt.

Obito really wanted to know what was going on.

They regarded each other for a long time and Naruto couldn't help but wonder why he thought of Sasuke at that moment. There was something about this situation that made him remember the brother that he had lost. He quickly pushed those memories away.

But it had effectively reminded him that Naruto didn't want to lose another one.

So, with some difficulty, Naruto sighed. "I'm sorry. I don't want to talk about it."

"It is bothering you." The Uchiha insisted.

"No… _You_ are bothering me." He snapped at the boy – which in a way was actually the truth - and groaned when the boy winched.

The teenager shifted uneasily, unsure whether Naruto was actually angry with him and whether he should simply give him some space after all.

"Sorry that was uncalled for." Naruto apologised after a minute of Obito's indecision.

"It's alright. I just want to help." Obito prodded again, seemingly not giving up quite yet.

"It's stupid." Naruto sighed as he closed his eye in an attempt to dismiss the conversation.

"It's not stu-"

"No." Naruto told him as both of his eyes snapped open. "It is."

"Why is it stupid?"

"I don't want to talk about it, Obito."

"I'm going to bother you until you tell me." The Uchiha stubbornly told him. "I have never seen you like this before so it can't be stupid."

"Why can't you just trust me?" The time-traveller demanded sharply. "I'm being silly."

"Why the hell can't you trust me?!" Obito returned just as icily. "We are in this together!"

"I know!"

"Then why don't you tell me?!"

"Because-" Naruto paused for a moment. "It's just stupid!"

"IT'S NOT just stupid! Right now, you are acting stupid by _just_ saying it's stupid! I will form my own opinion myself." Obito protested, actively provoking him.

The blond angrily continued to tear off the grass at his sides as he spoke. "You don't understand Obito! I have been trying to hide from the fact that I can't do it alone! This whole situation _is_ stupid! I have been stupid. I have been evading trouble that I should have faced head on. Only to figure out that the whole picture is completely different! I probably only made it worse."

Obito blinked. He didn't quite know what to say to that very vague reply.

"What are you talking about?" He tried, his fake angry tone lost.

Naruto chuckled without any amusement in his tone. "I don't know what to do anymore Obito."

A shiver went down Obito's spine when he saw the look in Naruto's eyes. Where had Naruto's determination gone?

That made Obito really worried and he crouched down causing the shadow shift. Naruto's shadowed eyes made him look grim.

"What is wrong with our plan?" Obito questioned somewhat meekly.

"The threat has changed."

"Madara changed?" Obito frowned.

"No, he is still out there." Naruto denied, dismissing his question.

"We saved Kakashi from him right?"

"Yes. I guess you did." The blond agreed absently.

"_We_ did. I wouldn't have gotten away without you." Obito tried to get his attention, but Naruto wasn't really listening.

"It's just… Everything can be different. What is Madara now? How did he survive? How skilled is he now? Weaker? Stronger? How much does he know? Where the hell is his _past_ _one_? Which one did we fight? What happened to him anyway? I'm not sure anymore." The older shinobi angrily threw away the grass.

"But-" Obito tried, but was once again cut off by Naruto's rambling.

"That bastard must know _something_ if he came after Kakashi's eye. But why didn't he come look for us – I mean for you?"

"Nii-san…you are still part of me!" Obito growled out warningly. "We are in this together and you are only making me more confused!"

Naruto's eye finally focused on him once again. "It might be better that way."

"Just tell me the truth."

You won't like to hear the truth."

"I don't care. I want to know."

"Ignorance is often considered a blessing." The blond quoted.

"Well, it doesn't feel like one right now! Ignorance can kill you just the same anyway." Obito countered pointedly.

"It won't change anything that happened. It is already different." Naruto tried again when he couldn't really counter that argument.

"I don't care!" Obito shouted at him, standing up abruptly and crossing his arms.

"But I do!" Naruto hissed back at him as he pushed himself off the ground. "To tell you the truth, I don't want you to know!"

"I don't care."

"I _care_! I care about you Obito!"

"Just tell me damn it!" Obito demanded as he took a step closer to Naruto, nearly stepping on his feet.

"Just leave it!" Naruto tried to push him away with his arm – a physical attempt to brush off the subject – but Obito had had enough.

It had become physical, a sign of just how frustrated Naruto was.

His 'Nii-san' was clearly troubled by something big and Obito was not going to let Naruto play the little protector and get away with it! He was in this as much as he was!

So, when Naruto moved to push him away, Obito's hand shot out and wrapped around Naruto's wrist. He squeezed the wrist firmly and pulled the arm between them. Then, with the other hand he grabbed the front of Naruto's shirt and pulled him closer.

He was absently reminded of the argument that he had with Kakashi before the cave-in incident.

"You are only making it worse." Obito stated, twisting the fabric of the shirt to create more tension.

"You don't know anything." Naruto tried, though the blond already realised how stupid that sounded.

The young Uchiha didn't know how to react anymore. "What are you trying to tell me?" He demanded, giving him a rough shake. "I care about you too! I love you! Somehow, it is as if I am part of you! That doesn't make it less frustrating to know that you are keeping something from me while it bothers you so much! Tell me!"

"I dare you to make me! I don't wa-"

"Tell. Me!"

"No! I'm sorry alright! I should have kept my mouth shut. I will make sure to keep silent in the futu-"

Thud!

There was a long pause as Obito glared at the blond sitting on the ground, his hand covering his 'painful' cheek.

Obito slowly lowered both of his arms, one more outstretched after having punched the blond in the fact.

"Your appearance changed back to the old you this morning." He started. "You are looking at me oddly and it has to do with that masked figure. You are refusing me to face my own problems and knowing you, you are trying to 'protect' me from something that I won't like. Will it make me upset? Why?"

Naruto silently stared at him as Obito's glare softened slightly. He continued his analysis, knowing that was close.

"What makes you reluctant to tell me? Would I want to kill him even more? Will I want to hurt you if you tell me the truth? I have already seen what this Madara guy has done in most of your memories, so I doubt anything he has done right now will make that worse if you told me about it. So the first option is less than likely. Will I be angry with you? Maybe, but then you would have been more willing to tell me…" He trailed off thoughtfully.

Obito nodded in confirmation when saw his partner grit his teeth.

"Now the only thing that would make you actually lie to me, is if you had to protect someone. Kurama… I doubt it. However, maybe…-" The boy continued.

For a moment Naruto was distracted from his rather accurate observations, as a familiar pull suddenly erupted in Naruto's stomach. The blond stubbornly fought against it. This was not a good time to wake up.

If Obito noticed anything, he didn't comment on it. Instead, he tapped his chin thoughtfully as he continued to talk.

"So that makes me conclude it has to do with _me_… Something I can't find out about myse-…" Obito trailed off and his eyes glazed over ever so slightly as realisation hit him.

No.

No way.

Please…

The Uchiha felt like the boulders were crashing down upon him again. He felt so heavy. His knees lost their strength and he flopped to the ground.

"I'm… Do you mean that I'm really…? That I'm actually..?" He couldn't bare to finish the sentence.

Naruto regarded him with a sorrowful expression. He didn't look angry with him at all. It was just sadness. Sadness that Obito had managed to figure it out after all.

"B-But how?" Obito stammered, visibly shaken.

Naruto quickly stood up and approached him carefully. Obito tried to shuffle away but Naruto wouldn't let that happen. He grasped his arm, pulled him up and hugged him before he could disappear.

"Listen to me Obito, you are not him." The time-traveler growled into the teenager's ear as Obito trembled.

"But he is-." Obito protested weakly. "You were comparing me already."

"You are not him." Naruto insisted, but didn't deny the fact. "There are too many differences." He said instead.

"But I'm…"

"Listen to me."

"Still, he-"

"You are not him." Naruto repeated.

"How could I… W-why would I?" The Uchiha's throat choked up.

"Everyone has a breaking point." Naruto simply said, as it was the only thing that the blond could come up with. "You were right. You deserve to know the truth, but I just wanted to prevent this reaction from you Obito. I was trying to think of a better way to tell you. You understand?" Naruto explained, ignoring the now painful pull that was trying to wake him up.

The boy slowly nodded into his shoulder, a sob escaped him. A part of him wished to take his words back, that he would never know that if Naruto hadn't even been there…

He would have turned into that… that…

Obito shivered.

He would have preferred to die.

"It's alright." Naruto whispered to him and before he knew what was happening, Obito was sobbing.

After a few minutes, Naruto hissed. "They keep trying to wake me up."

"Y-you should wake up." Obito tried, his voice muffled.

Naruto looked at him and reluctantly nodded. "Give me a second, I will be right back."

Obito sighed as Naruto's form disappeared.

'Damn it to hell.' He couldn't help but think as he started sobbing even louder. "I hate myself."

"Don't say that Dope!"

Obito startled as Naruto suddenly stood behind him. "W-what… that's not enough time to explain what is going on."

"They can wait." The blond said stubbornly as he put an arm around the boy's shaking form.

"They will be worried." Obito tried again.

"They are already worried about us anyway."

Obito couldn't really argue against that.

~ At the Hokage's office~ half an hour later ~ 

Their welcome into the office anything but quiet.

"Jiraiya-sensei! Kushina! What's going on?" Minato practically yelled as the pair bounded into the office.

"What is the situation?" The Sandaime demanded.

"What's wrong with Obito?" Asked Kakashi's voice from the other side of the room.

They had been in the middle of Kakashi's story when the pair rushed in.

"He isn't waking up. He keeps going back to sleep." The Sannin gently put the teenager on the couch. "He 'politely' asked me to leave him alone though. I don't even want to know where he got to know that kind of scary threats. Not to mention that he managed to call me a couple of rather rude names after that. All in all, he was deadly serious." The Sannin grumbled.

"So, it's not a coma?" Minato insisted as he accepted Kushina's hug.

"No… It's probably his own doing." Jiraiya answered as he nodded towards the Sandaime.

"Why?" Kakashi asked, giving his friend a worried glance.

"No idea."

Minato frowned and quickly gave Kushina a kiss on her forehead. "Please tell us what happened."

"Let's listen to Kakashi's story first." The Sandaime offered and Kakashi nodded reluctantly.

"Hai."

"Is Inoichi here yet?" Jiriaiya informed quickly. "I want to get started as quickly as possible."

"He could be here at any moment." Minato told him.

The Sannin nodded. "I will be right back."

Something was going on in that boy's mind and he wanted to know what was happening as soon as possible.

~ Back in Obito's mindscape ~

The pair sat next to each other, playing with the grass as they sat in lotus position. Naruto tore up the blades that he had in his hand and slowly let the wind carry them away. Obito watched him absently, rolling his own ball of grass in his hands before letting it drop to the ground.

Obito sighed.

"I'm so sorry Naruto…"

"What?" Naruto asked, startled when the boy looked at him guiltily.

"I'm so sorry that I turned out like that! I don't know how to-"

"Stop that already! We talked about this enough! You still don't get it right?" His friend ordered Obito, shaking him gently.

"Get what?" The boy repeated glumly.

"What I mean is…" Naruto paused, before he decided to take another approach. "Would you, Obito?" He demanded.

The boy looked up at him, surprised.

"What?"

"Tell me, would you become the man that I showed you?"

"NO!"

"Why wouldn't you?" Naruto pushed him.

Obito didn't even bother and took the bait. He pushed himself to his feet and pacing restlessly. His arms waved in the air as his thoughts rolled out of his mouth.

"Because! Because I don't want to kill people like that! I don't want to kill the people I care for! I don't even want to kill my family!" He yelled at him. "I want to protect! I have to protect everyone! I love Rin-chan! I love her! I love my team! I love Konoha and the precious people in my family! I don't care how strong it would make me! What use is being stronger than Kakashi if I can't act like a brat about it towards him? What good would it do if he wouldn't be there?"

"Then why did it happen?" Naruto asked quietly after the boy calmed down and sat down again.

"Because… I'm weaker than I thought." The boy's shoulders slumped.

"No."

"But…" Obito didn't understand.

"Because someone must have manipulated you while you were on the edge. Friends are important. Why? Because they can pull you back when necessary. They can return you back to the right way of thinking. Even Sasuke…" Naruto sighed. "We may have failed him in many ways, just as he failed us. But in the end, he realised this and that allows me to feel somewhat – just a little bit – at rest."

"So… so what are you saying?" Obito dared to ask, slowly having calmed down.

He would just have to remind himself that he was never going to be that person. Naruto had saved him from becoming that person. He had to push that horrible feeling away for now. He was a Shinobi damn it.

Naruto's expression turned dark.

"There is someone else out there, besides the future you that apparently might have tagged along somehow. Not quite like we did, but still there. This someone is what turned you into what you became. If this can happen to you… Being headstrong as you are. It must be a master at manipulating." "

"You know whom he is?"

"Yes."

"**The original** **Madara himself."** Kurama answered for him, growling venomously.

No way, Obito thought.

"But I though… Seeing as I – my other future me was a fake Madara…" He tried.

"There is still a real one out there somewhere." Naruto said, sounding convinced.

There was a pause.

"Just when you thought a situation couldn't get more complicated… " Obito whispered.

"Welcome to my life kiddo."

"I never agreed with this you know." The boy sighed tiredly.

"Well, life isn't exactly fair."

"No shit."

"Watch you mouth." Naruto almost automatically teased him.

"What, are you my dad or something?" Obito returned, crossing his arms.

"Getting cheeky aren't w-" Naruto didn't end the sentence as he felt the intrusion already present.

"I guess that the guests will be arriving any moment now." He warned as he shifted back into Obito's form.

Obito twitched nervously, quickly whipping away any remaining tears.

"Obito."

The boy turned towards Naruto and blinked at the wide grin that Naruto directed towards him. "You are not and will never be that horrible man in the future alright? We are going to kick both their asses."

"Right." The reply wasn't as determined as the blond had hoped for, but he could understand.

"Great."

The two turned towards the right, where they could see the two figures approaching. They couldn't hear them quite yet, Naruto knew, but the air that they carried was different that the visit that they had had before with Minato.

"Ne… Nii-san. What the hell are we going to do now?" Obito muttered under his breath as he smiled somewhat tiredly at the privacy invaders.

"I don't know." Naruto told him under his breath as he crossed his arms and glared at the pair.

"Shit."

"Damn right."

If there was one thing that Naruto could expect from his teacher, was that he was always prying into things he shouldn't.

"Hi, Ero-sensei." He called out calmly. "I didn't expect you like this. It's not really nice to enter without knocking right?"

The Sannin grinned at him. "Well, you weren't really polite to me either this morning, so that makes us even."

"I guess." He said somewhat sheepishly, vaguely remembering the nasty words that he had told him. "I'm sorry about that."

Naruto's eyes glanced towards Inoichi and nodded lightly at the blond mind-reader, which the man returned. Naruto secretly was pondering how to get rid of the man. He wasn't even sure whether he was able to evade Jiraiya's prodding, but the last thing he needed was an eyewitness if he happened to find something.

Speaking of his 'future sensei', he turned his attention back to Jiraiya.

"Is something wrong?" He asked.

"You know fully well why we are here, brat." The man told him, this time without any smile.

Naruto's grin dropped and Obito twitched right next to him. Jiraiya was being a little too serious for Naruto's liking. Did he know something? Their eyes met and the time-traveller suppressed a cringe when he recognised the look in the man's eyes.

Ero-Sensei was looking for answers.

Answers that Naruto wasn't sure he was willing to give.

**~ End Chapter ~ **

But will they give it to him? Would Jiraiya knowing even give an advantage? What about the puzzle that is now Madara?

Please share your thoughts with me. I would really appreciate it.

I'm finally going to bed. Sweet dreams!


End file.
